JPH0424059Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Technical Field The present invention is a hinge device for an opening/closing body that rotatably pivots the opening/closing body with respect to its support, the hinge device being rotatably supported on the support side, and It has a hinge arm to which the opening/closing body is fixed, a biasing member that applies a spring force to the hinge arm in the opening direction of the opening/closing body, and a buffer body that cushions the impact when the opening/closing body is opened. This invention relates to a hinge device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A hinge device of the above type for rotatably supporting an opening/closing body, such as a trunk lid, back door or hood of a motor vehicle, on a support, for example a vehicle body, is well known.

This type of hinge device is configured so that the opening/closing body is biased in the opening direction by a spring force applied to the hinge arm, thereby reducing the opening operation force of the opening/closing body, and is also capable of holding the opening/closing body in the open position. . In addition, in order to prevent the hinge arm from colliding with the support body due to the inertia force when the opening/closing body is opened and causing a large impact noise, a shock absorber made of an elastic material such as rubber is placed on the hinge arm or the support body. This reduces the impact when the opening/closing body is opened. However, the conventional shock absorber did not provide a sufficient shock absorbing function, and there was a risk that the hinge arm that hit the support body through the shock absorber would rebound and cause the opening/closing body to flap.

Therefore, the shock absorber is constructed from a bellows member that is hollow inside and made of an elastic material, and when the opening and closing body is opened,
A hinge device has been proposed in which the air inside the bellows member is gradually exhausted to the outside through small air circulation holes formed in the bellows member to cushion the opening/closing body. This device is an excellent hinge device that eliminates the drawbacks of the previously described configurations.

However, in the device according to this proposal, the air circulation holes for discharging the air inside the bellows member and conversely allowing outside air to flow into the bellows member are formed in the bellows member itself, which elastically deforms each time the opening/closing body is opened and closed. Because of this, there was a risk that the flow holes would expand over time, reducing the functionality of the bellows member.

OBJECTIVE The object of the present invention is to provide a hinge device of the type mentioned at the beginning, in which the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks are eliminated by a simple construction.

Configuration In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a buffer body that is
The bellows member is made of an elastic material and has a hollow interior, and a base member that fixes and supports the bellows member, the base member is made of a material with greater rigidity than the bellows member, and the base member is made of a material with greater rigidity than the bellows member. A configuration is proposed in which the member is formed with a locking portion for fixing the shock absorber to the vehicle body side or the hinge arm, and the locking portion is formed with an air flow hole communicating with the hollow interior of the bellows member.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of a hinge device 3 in which an opening/closing body consisting of a trunk lid 1 of an automobile is rotatably supported on a support body consisting of a vehicle body 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the hinge device 3 has a hinge arm 4 to which the trunk lid 1 is fixed at the tip. It is rotatably supported by a hinge support 6 fixed to. The hinge arm 4 is given a spring force in the direction of opening the trunk lid 1 in the opening direction (direction of arrow A) by a biasing member made of, for example, a torsion bar (not shown).

When the trunk lid 1 is in the fully closed position as shown by the solid line in FIG. 2, the trunk lid 1 is locked by a locking device (not shown) and held in the fully closed position. When the locking device is unlocked, a spring force P of a torsion bar (not shown) acts on the hinge arm 4, and the arm 4 rotates about the pivot pin 5 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. It begins to open in direction A. When the operator lifts the trunk lid 1 in the opening direction, the trunk lid 1 reaches the fully open position as shown by the chain line in FIG. Conversely, when a closing force is applied to the lid 1, the lid 1 rotates to the fully closed position against the spring force and is locked in this position.

The trunk lid 1 can be opened as described above, and since the spring force by the torsion bar is applied to the lid 1 at this time, the lid 1 can be opened with a small operating force.

By the way, when the trunk lid 1 is lifted to the fully open position, the hinge arm 4 hits the vehicle body 2 or the hinge support 6 on the vehicle body side strongly due to the inertia force, which increases the impact noise. As explained above, a shock absorber made of an elastic material such as rubber is fixed to the vehicle body, such as a hinge support, or to the hinge arm, so that when the trunk lid reaches the fully open position, the hinge arm will move through the shock absorber. I tried to make it hit the side of the car. However, this configuration not only did not provide a sufficient buffering function, but there was also a risk that the hinge arm would bounce back and the trunk lid would flap.

Therefore, in the present invention, a buffer body 12 is used which is composed of a bellows member 10 and a base member 11 that fixedly supports the bellows member 10. In this example, the buffer body 12 is on the vehicle body side,
That is, it is attached to a hinge support 6 fixed to the vehicle body 2.

As clearly shown in FIG. 3, the bellows member 10 is made of an elastic material such as rubber or soft synthetic resin, has a hollow interior, and can be elastically deformed in the direction of arrow B. The top of the bellows member 10 is open and is integrally and fixedly connected to the base member 11.

The base member 11 is made of a material having greater rigidity than the bellows member 10, for example, a hard synthetic resin,
A locking portion 14 having a locking pawl 13 is formed in the center thereof. This locking portion 14 is fitted into a mounting hole 20 drilled in the hinge support 6, and the locking claw 13 engages with the edge of the mounting hole 20, whereby the buffer body 12 is fixed to the hinge support 6. be done. Further, the locking portion 14 of the base member 11 has a bellows member 1
A small diameter air circulation hole 15 communicating with the hollow interior of the 0 is formed.

As described above, the base member 11 is made of a harder material than the bellows member 10, but as will be described later, the locking portion 14 thereof is made of a material that can be elastically deformed in the radial direction.

When the trunk lid 1 is in the fully closed position as shown by the solid line in FIG.
It is not in contact with 2. That is, the shock absorber 12 is not subjected to any external force from the hinge arm 4, and therefore the bellows member 10 remains free as shown in FIG.

Open trunk lid 1 as described above,
When this reaches just before the fully open position, the hinge arm 4
begins to come into contact with the bottom surface 10a of the bellows part material 10, and pressurizes the bellows part material 10 in the direction of arrow Q. As a result, the air inside the bellows part material gradually flows out through the air circulation holes 15, and the bellows part material 10 is compressed and deformed, and finally compressed into a folded state as shown in FIG. 4. At this time, the hinge arm 4, and therefore the trunk lid 1, reaches its fully open position and stops. In this way, the bellows member 10 functions as a stopper for the hinge arm 4, that is, it functions to position the lid 1 at a predetermined fully open position, but it also serves to reduce the impact when opening the lid 1 to the fully open position. , plays an important role in weakening the impact and suppressing the generation of impact noise. That is, since the trunk lid 1 reaches the fully open position when the bellows member 10 is compressed as shown in FIG. 4 while the air inside the bellows member gradually flows out from the hole 15, the hinge arm 4 begins to abut against the bellows member 10. The rotational force of the lid 1 is gradually weakened until the lid 1 reaches the fully open position, and a reliable buffering function is obtained. Furthermore, the hinge arm 4 does not bounce against the bellows member 10. Therefore, the lid 1 smoothly reaches the fully open position and stops without flapping. If the impact force of the lid 1 can be weakened, the impact force acting on the vehicle body 2 will also be reduced, thereby making it possible to reduce the thickness of the vehicle body 2 and its weight.

When the trunk lid 1 is rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow A to close it, as the hinge arm 4 leaves the bellows member 10, outside air flows into the bellows member 10 through the air circulation hole 15, and the air flows into the bellows member 10. Part 1
0 returns to the free state shown in FIG. 3 due to its elasticity.

By the way, if the size of the air circulation hole 15 is too large, when the hinge arm 4 hits the bellows member 10, the air inside it will suddenly escape, and a sufficient buffering function will not be obtained. Therefore, the size of this hole 15 is very important in obtaining the desired buffer function. However, in the case of conventionally proposed shock absorbers using bellows material, as explained earlier, air circulation holes were drilled in the bellows material itself, so these holes enlarged over time and gradually There was a risk that the buffering function would deteriorate. This is because the bellows material is made of an elastic material such as rubber, and is easily fatigued because it expands and contracts each time the trunk lid is opened and closed, and holes formed directly therein may expand in diameter relatively quickly. Therefore, in the present invention, as described above, the air circulation holes 15 are formed in the base member 11 which is more rigid than the bellows member 10, and the diameter of the holes 15 is prevented from increasing over time, so that the size of the holes 15 is always maintained. It is constructed so that it can be kept constant. As a result, a predetermined buffering function can be obtained over a long period of time.

Further, as described above, the locking portion 14 of the base member 10
The shock absorber 12 is installed by locking into the mounting hole 20 of the hinge support 6. Since the air circulation hole 15 is formed in the locking portion 14, the locking portion 1
4 is fitted into the mounting hole 20, the locking portion 14 is elastically deformed in its radial direction. Therefore, the operator can fit the locking portion 14 into the mounting hole 20 with a small operating force. After the attachment is completed, the locking portion 14 returns elastically and the locking pawl 13 strongly engages with the edge of the attachment hole 20, so that the buffer will not come off inadvertently.

As described above, in the configuration according to the present invention, the air circulation holes 15 not only function to simply exhaust the air inside the bellows member and conversely take in outside air, but also improve workability during the installation work of the shock absorber. It also functions as an element to increase

In order to make it easier to reduce the locking part 14 more reliably in the radial direction, it is also advantageous to form an appropriate number of vertical divisions 21 in the locking part 14, as shown in FIG.

In the above embodiment, the buffer body 12 is connected to the hinge support 6.
However, it is of course possible to attach it to the vehicle body side other than this support, for example, to the vehicle body 2 itself, or to the hinge arm 4.

The present invention can be widely applied to hinge devices for various opening/closing bodies other than trunk lids.

Effects According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the air circulation holes from expanding over time, and it is possible to obtain a reliable buffer function over a long period of time. Moreover, by forming the air circulation holes in the locking portion of the base member, it is possible to improve the workability when attaching the shock absorber.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the trunk lid at the rear of the automobile and its hinge device, Fig. 2 is a front view seen in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the shock absorber, and Fig. 4 is a bellows member. FIG. 5 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3 when compressed, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another example of the configuration of the locking portion. 2... Vehicle body, 3... Hinge device, 4... Hinge arm, 10... Bellows member, 11... Base member, 12... Buffer body, 14... Locking portion, 15...
air flow holes,

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A hinge device for an opening/closing body that rotatably pivots the opening/closing body relative to its support, the hinge device being rotatably supported on the support side and the opening/closing body being fixed. In the hinge device, the hinge device includes a hinge arm, a biasing member that applies a spring force to the hinge arm in the opening direction of the opening/closing body, and a buffer body that cushions the impact when the opening/closing body is opened. The cushioning body includes a bellows member made of an elastic material and having a hollow interior, and a base member that fixedly supports the bellows member, and the base member is made of a material having greater rigidity than the bellows member. and the base member is formed with a locking portion for fixing the shock absorber to the vehicle body side or the hinge arm, and the locking portion is formed with an air circulation hole that communicates with the hollow interior of the bellows member. The hinge device characterized by: