JP7441421B2 - Vehicle armrest mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle armrest mounting structure in which an armrest is removably mounted to a door trim.

Patent Document 1 describes a structure in which an armrest support portion is formed in a bulging shape on a door trim, and the armrest is attached to the upper surface of the armrest support portion. An opening (top opening) is formed on the upper surface of the armrest support, and a plurality of locking pieces are formed protruding from the inner surface of the armrest with their tips directed downward, and the locking pieces are locked to the edge of the top opening. By doing so, the armrest is attached to the armrest support.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-329732

In the mounting structure of Patent Document 1, when the vehicle receives a side collision and a load is applied to the door in the width direction of the door, the locking piece comes off from the top opening and the armrest separates from the door trim. There is a possibility of peeling. Here, when comparing the front end and rear end of the armrest, we find that on the side of the rear end of the armrest (on the inside of the vehicle) there is an occupant seated on the seat and a seat back. In many cases, the movement of the armrest toward the interior of the vehicle is inhibited by obstacles, whereas on the sides of the front end of the armrest, there are no obstacles that inhibit the movement of the armrest toward the interior of the vehicle. There are many cases. Therefore, the front side of the armrest is more likely to fall off the door trim than the rear side, and there is a risk that the front side of the armrest that has fallen off will collide with the occupant seated on the seat.

Such inconvenience can also be solved by firmly fixing the armrest to the door trim with screws or the like so that the armrest does not separate from the door trim. However, due to the structure of the door, it may be necessary to remove the armrest from the door trim in order to remove the door trim from the door panel. Considering the workability of parts replacement and maintenance, it is preferable that the armrest can be easily attached and detached.

Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to prevent the front side of the armrest from falling off without impairing the workability of attaching and detaching the armrest from the door trim.

In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure provides a plurality of attachment engagement parts on the door trim side, a plurality of attachment engagement parts on the armrest side, and a plurality of attachment engagement parts on each of the plurality of attachment engagement parts. This vehicle armrest mounting structure includes a groove, a tether, and a tether locking part, in which the armrest is removably attached to a door trim in a posture along the front-rear direction of the door by engagement.

The groove is formed on at least the back surface of the armrest that is not exposed toward the vehicle interior, and extends along a direction intersecting the front-rear direction of the door. A tether is positioned forward of the groove and extends from the armrest. The tether locking part is provided on the door trim side in correspondence with the tether, and the tether can be locked in the tether locking part in a disengaged state in which the plurality of mounting locking parts are disengaged from the plurality of mounting engagement parts. It is. The tether and the tether locking portion allow movement of the armrest relative to the door trim between an engaged state in which the plurality of attachment locking portions engage with the plurality of attachment engagement portions and the disengaged state. The plurality of attachment locking portions include a first attachment locking portion disposed in front of the groove and a second attachment locking portion located in front of the first attachment locking portion. The plurality of attachment engagement parts include a first attachment engagement part that is engaged with the first attachment engagement part, and a second attachment engagement part that is engaged with the second attachment engagement part. The tether is disposed between the first attachment stop and the second attachment stop. By locking the tether with the tether locking portion, the front side of the armrest is prevented from falling off from the door trim.

In the above configuration, the armrest is likely to bend in the groove when a load is input from the outside in the door width direction. For this reason, when the vehicle (the door in the closed position that stands up along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle) is subjected to a side collision and the door trim bends inward in the vehicle width direction (internal direction), the armrest bends in the groove. This makes it easier to follow the deformation of the door trim, and the front side of the armrest becomes difficult to separate from the door trim. In addition, even if the armrest is unable to follow the deformation of the door trim and the mounting locking part comes off from the mounting engaging part and becomes disengaged, the tether will lock to the tether locking part and the door trim will be removed. This prevents the front side of the armrest from falling off. This can prevent the front side of the armrest from falling off.

In addition, the tether and the tether locking part allow the armrest to move relative to the door trim between the fully engaged state and the disengaged state, so when attaching and detaching the armrest, the same procedure as when no tether is provided, What is necessary is to engage or disengage the attachment locking portion with the attachment engagement portion. Therefore, the armrest can be attached and detached more easily than when the armrest is firmly fixed to the door trim using screws or the like.

According to the armrest mounting structure of the present disclosure, it is possible to prevent the front side of the armrest from falling off without impairing the workability of attaching and detaching the armrest to the door trim.

FIG. 2 is an inner side view of a door to which an armrest mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, as viewed from inside the vehicle interior. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the armrest viewed from inside the vehicle. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the armrest and the door trim as seen from the inside of the vehicle before the front part of the armrest is attached to the door trim side. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the front part of the armrest viewed from outside the vehicle interior. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the structure of the door trim side to which the front part of the armrest is attached, viewed from inside the vehicle interior. FIG. 3 is an inner side view of the pull box and tether viewed from inside the vehicle. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 3; FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 2;

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. In each figure, FR indicates the front of the vehicle, UP indicates the upper side, and IN indicates the inside in the vehicle width direction. Furthermore, in the following description, the left-right direction refers to the left-right direction when facing the front of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 1, the armrest mounting structure according to the present embodiment is applied to left and right doors 1 (the right door is shown in FIG. 1) of a vehicle such as an automobile. Since the left and right doors 1 are provided symmetrically on the left and right sides of the vehicle and have substantially the same configuration, the right door will be described below, and the description of the left side will be omitted.

The door 1 is generally composed of a door panel 2 and a door trim 3, and is arranged on the side surface of a cab (vehicle body) to open and close a door opening (not shown). The door 1 in the closed position that closes the door opening stands up along the front-rear direction of the vehicle on the side of the passenger compartment. In the following description, the direction with respect to the door 1 means the direction of the door 1 in the closed position unless otherwise specified, and the longitudinal direction and width direction (door width direction) of the door 1 refer to the longitudinal direction and the vehicle width direction of the vehicle. Generally in the same direction.

The door panel 2 is formed by joining a door outer panel (not shown) on the outside in the vehicle width direction and a door inner panel 4 on the inside in the vehicle width direction, and its front end connects to the cab via two upper and lower door hinges (not shown). It is rotatably supported on the front edge of the door opening (on the vehicle body side).

The door trim 3 is a resin panel fixed to the inner surface (inner surface) of the door inner panel 4 in the door width direction. A pull box 5 made of resin is fixed to the door trim 3, and an armrest 6 made of resin is detachably attached to the door trim 3 and the pull box 5. The armrest 6 extends substantially horizontally from the rear end of the door 1 to approximately the center in the front-rear direction at a height position suitable as an armrest for an occupant seated on a seat (not shown) in the vehicle interior of the door 1. The pull box 5 has a box shape that opens upward, and is disposed outside the front end 6F of the armrest 6 in the door width direction. When closing the door 1, the occupant seated on the seat 1 can insert his or her fingers into the pull box 5 from above, grasp the front end 6F of the armrest 6, and pull the door 1 closer.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 8, the armrest 6 has an L-shaped cross section, and includes an armrest lateral surface portion 7 extending substantially horizontally from the door trim 3 toward the inner side in the door width direction, and an edge of the armrest lateral surface portion 7 on the inner side in the door width direction. It integrally has an armrest vertical surface portion 8 that extends downwardly from the armrest. At the front end 6F of the armrest, a notch-like recess 9 for exposing the opening of the pull box 5 upward is formed on the outside of the armrest lateral surface 7 in the door width direction, and the width of the armrest lateral surface 7 is equal to the width in the front-rear direction. The front end portion 6F is narrower than the center, the lower edge of the armrest vertical surface portion 8 slopes upward toward the front, and the vertical width of the armrest vertical surface portion 8 becomes narrower toward the front.

The armrest 6 includes a hard armrest base material 10 and a soft skin material 11 that is fixed to the armrest base material 10 and covers the outer surface of the armrest base material 10 (see FIG. 7). A plurality of clips 12 are fixed to the back surface (the back surface of the armrest base material 10) that is not exposed to the passenger compartment side of the front and back surfaces of the armrest 6 (see FIG. 4), and each clip is fixed to the door trim 3 and pull box 5. A plurality of clip engagement holes 13 are formed corresponding to the holes 12 (see FIG. 6). The clip 12 constitutes an attachment locking portion provided on the armrest 6 side, and the clip engagement hole 13 constitutes an attachment engagement portion provided on the door trim 3 side. By inserting and engaging the clip 12 into the clip engagement hole 13 from above, the armrest 6 is removably attached to the door trim 3 in a posture along the front-rear direction of the door 1. Note that in FIGS. 2, 4, and 8, only the armrest base material 10 is illustrated, and illustration of the skin material 11 is omitted.

A groove 14 is formed on the back surface of the front end portion 6F of the armrest 6 (in this embodiment, the armrest base material 10) along a direction intersecting the front-rear direction of the door 1. The groove 14 continues from the outer end surface in the door width direction of the armrest horizontal surface portion 7 to the lower end surface of the armrest vertical surface portion 8, extends linearly along the door width direction in the armrest horizontal surface portion 7, and extends in the vertical direction in the armrest vertical surface portion 8. A groove 14 extends in a straight line along the outer end surface of the armrest lateral surface portion 7 in the door width direction, and passes through the groove 14 in the vertical direction (see FIG. 8). Note that grooves may be formed on the front surface of the armrest base material 10 in addition to the back surface of the armrest base material 10. Furthermore, grooves may be formed in the skin material 11 at the outer end in the vehicle width direction of the armrest lateral surface portion 7, the lower end portion of the armrest vertical surface portion 8, and the like.

A tether 15 is fixed to the back surface of the front end 6F of the armrest 6 (in this embodiment, the armrest base material 10), and a tether engagement member corresponding to the tether 15 is fixed to the door trim 3 side (in this embodiment, the pull box 5). A stop 16 is provided. Tether 15 extends downward from armrest 6 in front of groove 14. Two clips 12 are provided in front of the groove 14, and a tether 15 is placed between these two clips 12 (see FIG. 4). The tether locking portion 16 is constituted by the lower end surfaces of a pair of front and rear opposing walls 22 that face apart from each other at the front and rear of the rectangular tether insertion hole 21 formed in the pull box 5 (see FIG. 6).

The tether 15 integrally includes an upper end portion 17 fixed to the armrest base 10 with screws 20, an intermediate portion 18 extending downward from the upper end portion 17, and an arrowhead-shaped lower end portion 19 formed at the lower end of the intermediate portion 18. (See Figures 6 and 7). The lower end portion 19 of the tether 15 is inserted into the tether insertion hole 21 from above. The longitudinal width of the lower end 19 of the tether 15 is larger than the separation width of the tether locking part 16 (distance between the lower ends of the front and rear opposing walls 22), and the lower end 19 is inserted into the tether insertion hole 21 from above and moved downward. When pressed, the lower end portion 19 is elastically deformed, passes through the tether insertion hole 21, and reaches below the tether locking portion 16.

When assembling the armrest 6 to the door trim 3 side, after inserting the lower end 19 of the tether 15 into the tether insertion hole 21 from above and pushing it below the tether locking part 16, each clip 12 is engaged with the corresponding clip. The holes 13 are engaged with each other. The lower end portion 19 of the tether 15 and the tether locking portion 16 are in an engaged state in which the clip 12 engages with the clip engagement hole 13 and in a disengaged state in which the clip 12 is disengaged from the clip engagement hole 13. The movement of the armrest 6 with respect to the door trim 3 is allowed between. In other words, when the armrest 6 is assembled to the door trim 3, the distance D between the tether locking part 16 and the upper end of the lower end 19 of the tether 15 (see FIG. 6) is the distance D between the clip 12 and the clip engagement hole 13. The armrest 6 is set longer than the distance the armrest 6 is moved relative to the door trim 3 when removed from the door trim 3.

The upper end of the lower end portion 19 of the tether 15 can be locked to the tether locking portion 16 in a disengaged state in which the clip 12 is disengaged from the clip engagement hole 13 . By locking the tether 15 with the tether locking portion 16, the front side of the armrest 6 is prevented from falling off from the door trim 3. Note that the locking force between the tether 15 and the tether locking portion 16 (the force required to pull out the tether 15 from the tether locking portion 16 and release the lock) is equal to the locking force between the clip 12 and the clip engaging hole 13. The force is set larger than the resultant force (the force required to pull out the clip 12 from the clip engagement hole 13 and release the engagement).

According to the present embodiment, the armrest 6 is easily bent in the groove 14 in response to a load input from the outside in the door width direction, so that the vehicle (the door 1 in the closed position standing up in the front-rear direction) receives a side impact. When the door trim 3 bends inward in the vehicle width direction (towards the passenger compartment), the armrest 6 bends in the groove 14 and easily follows the deformation of the door trim 3, and the front side of the armrest 6 separates from the door trim 3. It becomes difficult. Furthermore, even if the armrest 6 is unable to follow the deformation of the door trim 3 and the clip 12 comes off the clip engagement hole 13 and becomes disengaged, the tether 15 is engaged with the tether engagement portion 16. This prevents the front side of the armrest 6 from falling off from the door trim 3. Thereby, the front side of the armrest 6 can be prevented from falling off.

Furthermore, since the tether 15 and the tether locking portion 16 allow the armrest 6 to move relative to the door trim 3 between the fully engaged state and the disengaged state, the tether 15 is not provided when the armrest 6 is attached or detached. The clip 12 may be engaged with or disengaged from the clip engagement hole 13 in the same manner as in the case where the clip engagement hole 13 is not provided. Therefore, the armrest 6 can be attached and detached more easily than when the armrest 6 is firmly fixed to the door trim 3 with screws or the like.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the above-described embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the contents of the above-described embodiments, and can of course be modified as appropriate without departing from the present invention. That is, it goes without saying that all other embodiments, examples, operational techniques, etc. made by those skilled in the art based on this embodiment are included in the scope of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be suitably used in a vehicle in which an armrest is detachably attached to a door trim.

1: Door 2: Door panel 3: Door trim 4: Door inner panel 5: Pull box 6: Armrest 6F: Armrest front end 7: Armrest lateral surface 8: Armrest vertical surface 9: Recess 10: Armrest base material 11: Skin material 12 :Clip (mounting locking part)
13: Clip engagement hole (mounting engagement part)
14: Groove 15: Tether 16: Tether locking part 17: Upper end of tether locking part 18: Middle part of tether locking part 19: Lower end of tether locking part 20: Screw 21: Tether insertion hole 22: Opposed wall

Claims (1)

Multiple mounting engagement parts are provided on the door trim side, multiple mounting engagement parts are provided on the armrest side,
An armrest mounting structure for a vehicle in which the armrest is removably mounted to the door trim in a posture along the front-rear direction of the door by respectively engaging the plurality of mounting locking parts with the plurality of mounting engagement parts. And,
a groove formed on at least the back surface of the armrest that is not exposed to the passenger compartment side, and extending along a direction intersecting the front-rear direction of the door;
a tether located in front of the groove and extending from the armrest;
a tether locking portion provided on the door trim side corresponding to the tether, and capable of locking the tether in a disengaged state in which the plurality of attachment locking portions are disengaged from the plurality of attachment engagement portions; Prepare,
The tether and the tether locking portion are configured to lock the armrest relative to the door trim between an engaged state in which the plurality of attachment locking portions engage with the plurality of attachment engagement portions and a disengaged state. allow the movement of
The plurality of attachment locking portions include a first attachment locking portion disposed in front of the groove and a second attachment locking portion located in front of the first attachment locking portion. ,
The plurality of attachment engagement parts include a first attachment engagement part that the first attachment engagement part engages, and a second attachment engagement part that the second attachment engagement part engages with. including;
The tether is disposed between the first attachment locking portion and the second attachment locking portion,
An armrest mounting structure for a vehicle, wherein the tether is locked to the tether locking portion, thereby preventing the front side of the armrest from falling off from the door trim.

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