JPH018434Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a cigarette lighter device for an automobile.

(Prior Art) Conventional automobile cigarette lighter devices have a structure in which the operation knob protrudes relatively largely from the surface of the cigarette lighter mounting panel (for example, the instrument panel) into the vehicle interior. Therefore, it is preferable from the viewpoint of aesthetics and safety that the number of protrusions such as the operating knob portion be as small as possible.

From this point of view, some cigarette lighters have a structure in which the operating knob does not protrude too much from the instrument panel (for example, the
56-99273).

However, this known example of a cigarette lighter device is
A plug member is attached to the outer end of the socket member, which is attached to the instrument panel so that the outer end thereof is substantially flush with the instrument panel. By fitting the cigarette lighter into the socket until it is flush with the outer end surface of the socket, the amount of protrusion of the operating knob from the instrument panel when the cigarette lighter is not in use is suppressed. When igniting, the operating knob must protrude inward from the instrument panel by at least the length that the operator can operate it by pinching it with his or her fingers, so the amount of protrusion will inevitably become large, and the knob will not extend into the instrument panel. This creates a protruding feel and impairs the aesthetic appearance of the instrument panel portion. On the other hand, in order to maintain a relatively good appearance of the instrument panel, the amount of protrusion of the operating knob must be reduced, which deteriorates the operability accordingly.

(Purpose of the invention) The present invention has been made for the purpose of providing a cigarette lighter device for an automobile that has good appearance and operability, and is highly safe.

(Structure of the invention) The automobile cigarette lighter device of the invention includes a plug member having an operation knob and the plug member being removably inserted into a recess formed in a cigarette lighter mounting panel such as an instrument panel. A cigarette lighter consisting of a socket member is installed with the socket member being inserted and held in the through hole at the bottom of the recess, and a cigarette lighter is inserted into the cavity between the recess and the cigarette lighter in the depth direction of the recess. A movable panel that can move forward and backward and is always urged outward by an elastic member is installed so as to cover the space between the recess and the operating knob of the cigarette lighter, and furthermore, when the cigarette lighter is not in use, the operating knob is attached. The movable panel and the cigarette lighter mounting panel are located on substantially the same plane, thereby improving the appearance, operability, and safety of the cigarette lighter device.

(Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 4 show an automobile cigarette lighter device Z according to an embodiment of the present invention. This cigarette lighter device Z has a cigarette lighter 3 installed in a substantially rectangular recess 7 formed by recessing a part of the instrument panel 1 toward the side opposite to the vehicle interior, and furthermore, a cigarette lighter 3 is installed in a substantially rectangular recess 7 formed by recessing a part of the instrument panel 1 toward the side opposite to the vehicle interior. A movable panel 2, which will be described later, is attached to the intermediate portion.
This cigarette lighter 3 is a conventionally known one,
To briefly explain its structure, the cigarette lighter 3 has a bottom surface 10 of a recess 7 as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4.
A socket member 5 is fitted into a through hole 12 provided in the center of the socket member 5 and a retaining member 16 is attached thereto, and a plug member 4 is inserted into and removably inserted into the socket member 5. are doing. Further, the plug member 4 is located outside both ends of a body portion 21 that is slidably fitted into the socket member 5, and moves integrally forward and backward with respect to the body portion 21 in its axial direction. It has an operation knob 22 that can be displaced and a heat generating part (not shown). This plug member 4 is
The cigarette lighter 3 can be placed in three different positions depending on how it is used, namely, the position where the body 21 of the plug member 4 is fully pushed into the socket member 4 as shown in FIG. This is the position when the lighter is not in use, and in this state the heat generating part is not energized.In the following explanation, this position will be referred to as the first position), and further operations from the first position as shown in Figure 3. The position where the knob 22 is pushed into the body 21 of the socket member 5 (this position is the position during the ignition operation and the heat generating part is energized. In the following description, this position will be referred to as the second position), As shown in FIG. 4, the position where the body 21 and the operating knob 22 are respectively protruded from the socket member 5 (this position is the position after ignition is completed, and in the following explanation, this will be referred to as the third position). The position is set at three positions. This cigarette lighter device Z has the dimensions and dimensions of each part of the cigarette lighter 3 so that the outer end surface 22a of the operation knob 22 is substantially flush with the outer surface 1a of the instrument panel 1 when the cigarette lighter 3 is set to the first position. The depth and other dimensions of the recess 7 are set.

The movable panel 2 is formed into a substantially rectangular housing shape by a substantially rectangular front plate 13 and a peripheral wall 14 continuous to the outer peripheral edge of the front plate 13. This movable panel 2
The recess 7 is always biased in a direction protruding from the recess 7 by a spring (elastic member) 8 interposed between the front plate 13 and the bottom surface 10 of the recess 7 of the instrument panel 1. is housed within. The outer peripheral shape and outer dimensions of the movable panel 2 are such that when the movable panel 2 is accommodated in the recess 7, the peripheral wall 9 of the recess 7 and the peripheral wall 1 of the movable panel 2 are
The movable panel 2 is appropriately set so that the movable panel 2 can be moved forward and backward into the recess 7 while the movable panels 4 are as close as possible to each other and are maintained in a non-contact state.

Further, the movable panel 2 has a plug insertion/removal hole 17 formed in the center thereof with a diameter that allows the operation knob 22 of the cigarette lighter 3 to pass through in the axial direction, while the two opposite sides of the peripheral wall 14 A pair of tongue-shaped protrusions 15, 15 extending horizontally outward from the peripheral wall 14 are integrally formed, respectively. Each of these projecting pieces 15, 15, . . .
When housed in the recess 7, the guide grooves 11, 11, . ing. Therefore, the movable panel 2 is urged outwardly by the spring 8, as shown by solid lines in FIGS. 2 to 4, and the protrusions 15, 15, . The outer end surfaces 11a, 11a,
...... and its outward displacement is regulated (this position is referred to as the first panel position), and the second panel position.
As shown by the chain line (2') in the figures, the peripheral wall 14 is pushed into the recess 7, and the lower end surface 14a of the peripheral wall 14 abuts against the bottom surface 10 of the recess 7, thereby restricting its inward displacement. It can be moved back and forth between positions (this position is referred to as the second panel position).

Note that when the movable panel 2 is set at the first panel position, the outer surface 2a of the movable panel 2 is located approximately on the same plane as the outer surface 1a of the instrument panel 1, and the movable panel 2 is set at the second panel position. When set to the panel position, the operation knob 22 of the cigarette lighter 3 in the third position protrudes relatively largely from the outer surface 2a of the movable panel 2, and the peripheral wall of the movable panel 2 is arranged so that the operation knob 22 can be easily grasped. 1
4 or the formation position of the guide groove 11 of the recess 7 are set appropriately.

Next, the method of using this cigarette lighter device Z and its operation will be explained with reference to each figure in FIG. 5. First, when the cigarette lighter 3 is not in use,
As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 5A, the cigarette lighter 3 is set at the first position and the movable panel 2 is set at the first panel position. 2a and the outer surface 22a of the operation knob 22 are located on substantially the same plane. Therefore, instrument panel 1
There is no protrusion in the cigarette lighter device mounting part, which improves the aesthetic appearance of the cigarette lighter device mounting part. Furthermore, when the cigarette lighter is not in use for the longest period of time, the cigarette lighter 3 operating knob 22 portion is prevented from protruding from the outer surface 1a of the instrument panel 1 toward the interior of the vehicle, so that a passenger can easily touch the operating knob 22. I rarely come into contact with
Safety is further improved compared to a structure in which the operation knob 22 largely protrudes toward the interior of the vehicle from the outer surface 1a of the instrument panel 1.

When using the cigarette lighter 3, first press the cigarette lighter 3 with your finger as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 5B.
Push in the operating knob 22 to set the cigarette lighter 3 to the second position (start energizing). At this time, the movable panel 2 is held at the first panel position.

When ignition is completed, the cigarette lighter 3 moves from the second position to the third position in the automobile as shown in FIGS. It is made to protrude slightly from the surface 2a. The cigarette lighter user recognizes the completion of ignition based on the tapping sound when the cigarette lighter 3 is protruded and the amount of protrusion of the operating knob 22.

When the ignition of the cigarette lighter 3 is confirmed, the user then pushes the movable panel 2 into the recess 7 with his fingertips as shown in FIG. 5D to set the movable panel 2 to the second panel position, and The operating knob 22, which largely protrudes outward from the panel 2, is pinched with fingers and pulled out, and the heating part of the plug member 4 lights a cigarette. At this time, since the operating knob 22 largely protrudes outward from the cigarette lighter 3, the plug member 4 can be easily removed.

When you finish lighting the cigarette, move the movable panel 2 again.
Insert the plug member 4 into the recess 7 through the plug insertion/removal hole 17 (which has returned to the first panel position), insert the plug member 4 into the socket member 5, and return the plug member 4 to the first position. (See Figure 2 and Figure 5A).

This completes the series of operations for the cigarette lighter 3.

(Effects of the invention) The automobile cigarette lighter device of the present invention has a cigarette lighter attached to the bottom of a recess formed in a cigarette lighter mounting panel such as an instrument panel, and a cigarette lighter between the recess and the operation knob of the cigarette lighter. In between, a movable panel that is always urged outward by an elastic member is attached to cover the gap, and when the cigarette lighter is not in use, the operating knob, the movable panel, and the cigarette lighter mounting panel are positioned approximately on the same plane. Since the cigarette lighter mounting portion of the cigarette lighter mounting panel has no protruding appearance, the cigarette lighter mounting panel has the advantage of being aesthetically pleasing and improving safety.

Furthermore, by pushing the movable panel toward the cigarette lighter mounting panel, the cigarette lighter's operating knob can be made to protrude outward from the movable panel. There is also a practical effect that the operation knob can be grasped and operated with certainty, and the operation of inserting and removing the plug member becomes easier.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a car cigarette lighter device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are operating states of the cigarette lighter device of FIG. 1. 5A to 5D are explanatory diagrams for explaining the use of the cigarette lighter device of FIG. 1. 1... Instrument panel (cigarette lighter mounting panel), 2... Movable panel, 3... Cigarette lighter, 4... Plug member, 5... Socket member, 7... Recess, 8... Spring (elastic member) ,
12...Through hole, 22...Operation knob.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In an automobile equipped with a cigarette lighter consisting of a plug member equipped with an operating knob and a socket member into which the plug member is inserted, a recess is formed and a through hole for holding the socket member is bored in the bottom of the recess. It is provided so as to cover the space between the cigarette lighter mounting panel and the operation knob of the plug member attached to the through hole of the cigarette lighter mounting panel, and is always kept outward by an elastic member. a movable panel that is biased by the cigarette lighter, and the operating knob of the plug member, the movable panel, and the cigarette lighter mounting panel are positioned on substantially the same plane when the cigarette lighter is not in use. cigarette lighter device.