JPH0129951B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a key cylinder mounting structure for locking and unlocking a locking device for an opening/closing body of a back door or trunk lid of an automobile from the outside of the vehicle.

As is well known, opening/closing bodies such as back doors and trunk lids of automobiles can be locked and unlocked from the outside of the vehicle by operating a key cylinder attached to the vehicle body or the opening/closing body.

Figures 1 and 2 show a key cylinder mounting structure that has been widely used in the past.

The locking device 3 is fixed to the rear panel inner 1a with bolts and nuts 4, and this locking device 3 is fixed to the inner panel 2a of the opening/closing body 2 by bolts and nuts 6.
It is provided with a latch 7 that engages and disengages from the fixed striker 5, and a lock release lever 8 that releases the engagement, that is, the lock, between the latch 7 and the striker 5.

A key cylinder 10 is fixed to the rear panel outer 1b in correspondence with the lock device 3. This key cylinder 10 includes a cylinder case 11 and a cylinder body 12 that is rotated by a key plate 14 and returned to the key plate insertion position by a spring or the like. A key lever 15 for operating the lock release lever 8 is fixed. This key cylinder 10 is inserted into the key plate insertion hole 1 as shown in FIG.
3 is generally installed vertically (see, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application No. 55-61154).

This is because the end face of the key cylinder 10 where the key plate insertion hole 13 is open is exposed to the outside of the vehicle, so measures are taken to drain rainwater and car wash water that have entered the cylinder through the key plate insertion hole 13. are doing.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, since the cylinder case 11 has a groove 17 formed in the axial direction that engages and disengages the tumbler 16 incorporated in the cylinder body 12, this groove 17 is effective as a drainage groove. The key plate insertion hole 13 is arranged vertically so that the groove 17 is in the upper and lower positions, and the water that has entered the cylinder is collected in the lower groove 17. Water is drained out of the cylinder through a drain hole 18 formed at the end.

However, when the key cylinder 10 is arranged with its key plate insertion hole 13 vertically,
When the key plate 14 is inserted into the key plate insertion hole 13 and the lock device 3 is unlocked by rotating the key plate 14, the key plate 14 returns to the key plate insertion position together with the cylinder body 12 by a spring or the like. , the grip portion 14a of the key plate 14 is also placed in its original vertical position. Therefore, when the door is closed by pressing the end of the opening/closing body 2 near the fixed part of the striker 5 in this state, the belly part of the palm H hits the side edge of the grip part 14a of the key plate 14 as shown in FIG. This may cause pain to the operator.

In view of the conventional situation, the present invention is capable of avoiding freezing of the tumbler due to water intrusion and accumulation in the tumbler housing portion of the cylinder body, and allows the gripping portion of the key plate to be held approximately horizontally when the key cylinder is inserted into the key plate. Even if your palm hits the key plate when you close the door with the key plate inserted into the key plate insertion hole, the surface will not touch the gripping surface of the key plate. The pressure is reduced to avoid causing pain to the operator.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which the same parts as those of the conventional structure are denoted by the same reference numerals.

That is, in the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, an opening/closing body 2 is provided on the rear panel outer 1b in correspondence with the locking device 3 disposed on the rear panel inner 1a.
In the configuration in which the key cylinder 10 is disposed adjacent to the free end of the key cylinder 10, the key cylinder 10 is disposed with its key plate insertion hole 13 substantially horizontal, and the key plate 14 is inserted into the key plate insertion hole 13.
When the device is inserted into the device, the gripping portion 14a becomes approximately horizontal and the gripping surface 14b faces upward. Specifically, in this embodiment, the key plate insertion hole 13 is placed horizontally with the key plate 14 lying 90 degrees in the unlocking rotation direction from the vertical position.

With the above configuration, when the key plate 14 is inserted into the key plate insertion hole 13, the key plate 14 is rotated to unlock the lock device 3, and the opening/closing body 2 is opened, the key plate 14 is inserted into the key plate insertion hole 13. The cylinder body 12 returns to the original key plate insertion position. When closing the door with the key plate 14 inserted into the key plate insertion hole 13, the striker 5 of the opening/closing body 2 is attached to ensure that the striker 5 and latch 7 are locked. When the door is closed by pressing the edge near the front, the belly of the palm H hits the key plate 14 as shown in Figure 8, but at this time, the key plate 14 is horizontal at an angle of 90 degrees as described above. Since it is oriented horizontally, the gripping surface 14 has a large area.
Since it hits point b, it does not stimulate the operator to the extent that it causes pain.

On the other hand, when the key cylinder 10 is installed with the key plate insertion hole 13 horizontal as described above, it is necessary to take measures to prevent water from entering the cylinder. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
11a is integrally formed, and the opening part of the key plate insertion hole 13 is positioned substantially deeper than the end face of the cylinder, so that rainwater and car wash water flowing down from the opening/closing body 2 can flow into the cylinder from the opening of the insertion hole 13. In addition, drain holes 19 and 20 are formed in the lower portions of the annular walls 12a and 11a on the front side of the key plate insertion hole 13 to drain water that has entered inside the annular walls 12a and 11a. The water is drained out of the cylinder through drain holes 19 and 20. With this configuration, a cover with a shutter (see Fig. 6) for preventing the cylinder body 12 from coming off is provided at the end of the cylinder case 11, and the above-mentioned annular wall 12
Even if water enters into the cylinders a and 11a, it is drained out of the cylinder through the drain holes 19 and 20 before reaching the key plate insertion hole 13. As a result,
The key plate insertion hole 1 of the key cylinder 10
By installing the tumbler 3 horizontally, even if the tumbler 16 is placed horizontally with poor drainage performance, water will not enter and remain inside the tumbler 16 storage area. 16 will not freeze and lock/unlock operations will not be possible, and the sense of quality and reliability will not be impaired in the slightest.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the opening/closing body is closed by pressing the end of the opening/closing body with the key plate inserted into the key plate insertion hole of the key cylinder, even if the palm of the hand hits the key plate. When inserting the key cylinder into the key plate, the grip part of the key plate is placed sideways.
The gripping portion of the key plate has its gripping surface facing upward, and the palm of the hand hits this gripping surface, thereby eliminating the need for causing pain to the operator. In addition, since a water drain hole is provided in the front part of the key plate insertion hole formed on the end face of the key cylinder body, the water that flows into the key cylinder end is drained out of the cylinder through this drain hole before reaching the key plate insertion hole. can,
Therefore, even if the key plate insertion hole of the key cylinder is installed horizontally, and the tumbler of the cylinder body is placed horizontally with poor drainage performance,
Water does not enter and stay in the tumbler accommodating part, and the tumbler can be prevented from freezing, which has the practical effect of not impairing quality and reliability in the slightest.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a rear perspective view of the automobile, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the - line of Fig. 1 showing the conventional structure, Fig. 3 is a partially cutaway side view of the key cylinder, and Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the key cylinder.
5 is a side view showing the relationship between the palm and the key plate when the opening/closing body is closed;
7 is a sectional view showing the structure of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a side view showing the relationship between the palm and the key plate when the opening and closing body is closed, and FIG. 9 is a key plate. FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view of the cylinder. 1a...Rear panel inner (vehicle body), 1b...
Rear panel outer (vehicle body), 2...opening/closing body, 3...
...Lock device, 10...Key cylinder, 11...
Cylinder case, 11a... annular wall, 12... cylinder body, 12a... annular wall, 19, 20...
Drain hole, 13...Key plate insertion hole, 14...
Key plate, 14a...gripping portion, 14b...gripping surface.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a key cylinder, the lock device of the opening/closing body is unlocked by inserting a key plate into the key plate insertion hole formed on the end face of the cylinder body and rotating it, and then the key plate returns to the insertion position. An annular wall is formed at each end of the case and the cylinder body, and the opening part of the key plate insertion hole is set at a position deeper than the cylinder end surface, and a water drain hole is formed in each of the annular walls on the front side of the key plate insertion hole. and the key cylinder is mounted at a position adjacent to the free end of the opening/closing body of the vehicle body with the key plate insertion hole horizontal and the key plate gripping surface facing upward. .