JPH0711835A - Container device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a convenient container device such that weight thereof can be reduced and outward appearance thereof is good and safety is high, and a lid body can be opened and closed from either direction of both sides thereof. CONSTITUTION:A pair of retractable hinge axes 50, 50; 51, 51 is provided respectively at an outwardly protruding axially supporting position and inwardly retracting storage position on either side, respectively in front and in rear, of a lid body 40, and fitting holes 35, 36 are provided respectively on either side, in front and rear, of a box body 30, wherein the holes are rotatably engaged with and restrained by each of the axes 50, 51 when the axes are in axially supporting position and disengaged from the axes when the exes are in a storage position. And an activating member 60, which is engaged with each pair of axes 50, 50; 51, 51 to drive each of the axes, is installed in the lid body 40 so as to be movable back and forth.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a storage device comprising a box body having a storage opening and a lid body capable of opening and closing the storage opening of the box body, and mainly relates to an armrest in a vehicle seat. It is used for console boxes and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional storage device of this type, there is, for example, one disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 3-7636. That is, a first link member in which a housing having an opening and a lid are groped with the opening interposed therebetween, one end of which is pivotally attached to the opening edge of the housing and the other end of which is pivotally attached to the lid, A second link member facing the first link member, having one end on the same side as the one end of the first link member as a lid and the other end axially attached to an opening edge of the housing; It is a device that can open and close the lid body from both left and right sides (or both front and back sides) by a link mechanism.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional article storage device, each link member that constitutes the link mechanism requires a size over the entire length of the housing and the like, and also requires strength. However, since these members are relatively large in size or are mainly processed by a metal material, there is a possibility that the weight is increased.

Further, since each link member constituting the link mechanism is exposed between the housing and the lid when the lid is opened, it does not look good, and each link member has a small article or the like. There was a risk of being caught or hitting your finger, which was a safety issue.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to the problems of the prior art as described above, and it is possible to reduce the weight, and the appearance is high and the safety is high, and the lid body is optional on either side. An object of the present invention is to provide a convenient container device that can be opened and closed from the direction.

[0006]

The gist of the present invention for achieving the above object is to provide a storage opening (32).
And a box body (30) having the
In a storage device (20) comprising a lid body (40) capable of opening and closing the storage opening (32) of (1), one of the box body (30) and the lid body (40) is provided on both front and rear sides. The box is provided with a pair of hinge shafts (50, 50; 51, 51) that can be retracted at a pivotal position that projects outward along a substantially horizontal axis that is perpendicular to the front-rear direction and a storage position that retracts inward. Body (30) and lid body (4
When the pair of hinge shafts (50, 50; 51, 51) are in the pivotal position on the front and rear sides of the other of (0), the tip ends of the pair of hinge shafts (50, 50; 51, 51) are A pair of hinge shafts (5
0, 50; 51, 51) in the storage position, the pair of fitting holes (35, 35; 36, Three
6) are provided respectively, and one of the box body (30) and the lid body (40) provided with the hinge shaft (50) is provided with a pair of front and rear hinge shafts (50, 50; 51,
The operation member (60) with which the base end side of 51) engages is installed so as to be movable back and forth, and before and after the operation member (60),
Along with the movement of the operating member (60) in the front-rear direction, the pair of front hinge shafts (50, 50) follow one of the pivotal position and the retracted position so that the pair of front hinge shafts (50, 50).
50) a front guide groove (65) for guiding each base end side,
In order for the pair of rear hinge shafts (51, 51) to follow the other of the pivotal position and the stored position, the pair of rear hinge shafts (5
Rear guide groove (67) for guiding each base end side of (1, 51)
It exists in a container device (20) characterized by being provided with.

[0007]

[Function] The box body (3) which constitutes the container device (20)
When the storage opening (32) of (0) is closed by the lid body (40), it can be used as an armrest, for example. On the other hand, when the lid body (40) is opened, small articles and the like can be put in and taken out from the storage opening (32) of the box body (30).

When opening the lid body (40), the operating member (60) is moved back and forth to pivotally engage either the front or the rear of the lid body (40) with the box body (30). The other one may be lifted with the other as the center of rotation.

That is, when the operating member (60) is moved in the front-rear direction, the base end sides of the pair of front hinge shafts (50, 50) are guided to the front guide groove (65) of the operating member (60), A pair of front hinge shafts (50, 50) follow one of a pivot position and a storage position. At this time, on the contrary, the proximal ends of the pair of rear hinge shafts (51, 51) are connected to the operating member (6
0) Guided by the rear guide groove (67), the pair of rear hinge shafts (51, 51) follows the other of the pivot position and the storage position.

A pair of hinge shafts (51, 5) in a pivotal position.
1) rotatably engages with the fitting holes (36, 36), so that the pair of hinge shafts (51, 5) in the pivotal position.
The lid body (40) can be opened or closed from the side of the pair of hinge shafts (50, 50) in the storage position with 1) as the center of rotation. Therefore, it is possible to freely open and close the lid body (40) from any direction before or after it is easy to use.

In the above-mentioned storage device (20), when the lid body (40) is opened and closed, the load is concentrated on the pair of hinge shafts (50, 50/51, 51) which are the center of rotation.
Each of the hinge shafts (50, 51) may be in a form of simply protruding outward or retracting inward, and can be miniaturized. Therefore, there is no risk of increasing the weight even if it is made of a material having high rigidity.

Further, the operating member (60) for following the hinge shafts (50, 51) is required to have the guide grooves (65, 65) to be engaged with the hinge shafts (50, 51), and can be made thin. It is possible, by incorporating it in the lid body (40) etc.,
It can also be provided so that it does not appear outside.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the storage device 20 includes a box body 30 having a storage space 31 and a storage opening 32 for the storage space, and a lid body 40 for opening and closing the storage opening 32 of the box body 30. As shown in FIG. 4, the storage device 20 serves as an armrest and console box between the vehicle seats 10, 10.

The box body 30 has a storage opening 3 on the upper surface side.
It is formed in the shape of a cubic box having a size of 2, and the inside is a storage space 31. On the front and rear sides of the peripheral edge portion 33 of the storage opening 32, there are pivotal support portions 34, 3 extending upward in a semicircular shape.
4 are provided respectively.

A pair of hinge shafts 5 provided at both front ends of a lid body 40, which will be described later, are attached to the pair of front pivot portions 34, 34.
0 and 50 are insertion holes 35 into which they can be engaged and disengaged,
35 is drilled. Similarly, a pair of rear pivot parts 3
Fitting holes 36, 36 into which a pair of hinge shafts 51, 51 provided at both ends on the rear side of the lid body 40 are removably fitted are formed in the holes 4, 34.

As shown in FIG. 4, the lid body 40 is composed of a tray-shaped back plate member 41 made of synthetic resin and a trim member 40a mounted on the upper surface of the back plate member 41.
The operation member 60 shown in FIG. 1 is provided between the back plate member 41 and the trim member 40a so as to be movable back and forth.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the back plate member 41
Is composed of a bottom portion 42, a front wall 42a, a rear wall 42b, and side walls 42c, 42c on both sides. At both front ends of the back plate member 41, there are provided a pair of hinge shafts 50, 50 that can be retracted into a pivotal position that projects outward along a substantially horizontal axis that is perpendicular to the front-rear direction and a storage position that retracts inward. Is provided,
A pair of similar hinge shafts 51, 51 is also provided at both ends on the rear side.

A pair of front and rear hinge shafts 50, 50, 51,
Reference numeral 51 denotes a part that serves as a center of rotation when the lid body 40 is opened and closed, and is formed of a metal material having high rigidity so that a load is concentrated. However, the shape may be an L-shape as shown in the drawing, Not bulky as a part.

Guide plates 47 for restricting the moving directions of the hinge shafts 50, 51 are provided on both front and rear sides of the bottom surface portion 42 of the back plate member 41. Each hinge shaft 5
0 and 51 are held by a guide plate 47 so as to move along a substantially horizontal axis that is perpendicular to the front-rear direction. Further, the tip ends 50a, 51a of the hinge shafts 50, 51 are inserted through small holes formed in the side wall 42c, and the base ends 50b, 51b are bent at a substantially right angle so as to face upward.

The hinge shafts 50 and 51 are connected to the box body 30.
Intermediate position (see FIG. 2) that is shallowly inserted into the insertion holes 35 and 36, and a pivotal position (see the right side in FIG. 3) that is largely projected outward and is deeply inserted into the insertion holes 35 and 36 and is rotatably restrained.
And the operating member 60 to move to the retracted position (see the left side of FIG. 3) retracted inward. The operation member 60 that follows the hinge shafts 50 and 51 needs to have the guide grooves 65 and 65 that engage with the hinge shafts 50 and 51, and can be thinned, and is incorporated in the lid body 40. ing.

A long hole 62 extending in the front-rear direction is formed in the central portion 61 of the operating member 60. The operation member 60 is attached to the back plate member 41 so as to be movable back and forth by the length of the long hole 62 by the screw member 71 that is movably inserted into the long hole 62. A fixing portion 45 for fixing the screw member 71 is provided at the substantially center of the back plate member 41.
Is provided.

Further, guide pins 63, 63 are provided so as to extend forward and backward from the central portion 61 of the operating member 60. The guide pins 63, 63 are inserted into support plates 46, 46 projecting from the back plate member 41 so that the operating member 60 does not shift in the left-right direction. A spring member 7 having an elastic force equal to each other is provided on the base end side of each guide pin 63, 63.
0 and 70 are inserted, and the spring members 70 and 7 before and after this are inserted.
0, as shown in FIG. 2, the operating member 60 is normally
The back plate member 41 is urged so as to be located substantially at the center thereof.

The front portion 64 of the operating member 60 has a base end for each of a pair of front hinge shafts 50, 50 so as to follow one of the pivot position and the storage position as the front shaft 64 moves in the front-rear direction. A front guide groove 65 is formed to guide 50b, 50b. Further, on the rear portion 66 of the operation member 60,
Along with the movement in the front-back direction, a pair of rear hinge shafts 5
Rear guide grooves 67 are formed to guide the base ends 51b and 51b of the guides 1 and 51 so as to follow the pivotal position or the retracted position.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the operating member 60 is in the normal state, the front pair of hinge shafts 50, 50 and the rear pair of hinge shafts 51, 51 are both fitted into the fitting holes 35, 36 of the box body 30. It is in an intermediate position where it can be inserted shallowly. The front guide groove 65 and the rear guide groove 67 of the operating member 60 are formed in a C-shape that is symmetrical with each other. When the operating member 60 is moved in the front-rear direction, the pair of front hinge shafts 50, 50 and the pair of rear side shafts are formed. Each of the hinge shafts 50, 51 moves so that one of the hinge shafts 51, 51 moves from the intermediate position to the pivot position and the other moves from the intermediate position to the storage position.
5, 67 are engaged.

Knobs 66 and 68 for pushing and moving the operating member 60 in the front-rear direction are provided at the respective terminals of the front portion 64 and the rear portion 66 of the operating member 60. Each knob 6
Reference numerals 6 and 68 are operably exposed to the outside from notch portions 43 and 44 formed in the front wall 42a and the rear wall 42b of the back plate member 41.

Next, the operation will be described. As shown in FIG.
When the storage opening 32 of the box body 30 that constitutes the storage device 20 is closed by the lid body 40, the trim member 40a of the lid body 40 can be used as an ordinary armrest by attaching an elbow or the like.

At this time, as shown in FIG.
Are urged by the front and rear spring members 70, 70 so as to be positioned substantially at the center of the back plate member 41. Therefore, the pair of front hinge shafts 50, 50 engaged with the front guide groove 65 and the rear guide groove 67 of the operating member 60, respectively.
And the pair of hinge shafts 51, 51 on the rear side are both in the intermediate position, and the fitting holes 3 of the corresponding box body 30 respectively.
The lid body 40 is held in a closed state by being fitted into the rails 5, 36 shallowly.

On the other hand, when the lid body 40 is opened and closed and small articles and the like are put in and taken out from the storage opening 32 into the storage space 31,
The operation member 60 may be moved back and forth to rotatably engage one of the front and rear of the lid body 40 with the box body 30, and the other one may be lifted with the one as a rotation center.

That is, when the lid body 40 is to be opened from the front side, as shown in FIG. 3, the knob 64 on the front end side of the operating member 60 is pushed to move the operating member 60 rearward (see FIG. 3).
Then move to the right). Then, the base ends 50b and 50b of the pair of front hinge shafts 50 and 50 are connected to the operating member 6 respectively.
The front guide grooves 65 of 0 are pushed so as to be close to each other while slidingly contacting the inner edges of the front guide grooves 65 that spread leftward and rightward. Therefore, the pair of front hinge shafts 5
0 and 50 follow the storage position from the intermediate position.

On the contrary, the base ends 51b, 51b of the pair of rear hinge shafts 51, 51 are guided by the rear guide groove 67 of the operating member 60, and slide on the inner edge of the rear guide groove 67 which spreads left and right toward the front. It is pushed so as to separate from each other while touching. Therefore, the pair of hinge shafts 51, 51 on the rear side follow the pivot position from the intermediate position.

As a result, the lid body 4 whose restraint has been released
The front end side of 0 is removed from the peripheral edge portion 33 of the box body 30, and the pair of rear side hinge shafts 51, 51 rotatably engaged with and constrained in the fitting holes 36, 36 on the rear end side. As the center of rotation of the body 40, the front end side of the lid body 40 can be lifted or swung so as to fit the box body 30 again.

Although the case where the lid body 40 is opened from the front side has been described above, when the lid body 40 is opened from the rear side, contrary to the above, the operation member 60 is opened.
The operation member 60 may be moved forward (leftward in FIG. 3) by pushing the knob 65 on the rear end side. In this case, the pair of rear hinge shafts 51, 51 is driven from the intermediate position to the stored position, while the pair of front hinge shafts 50, 50 is driven from the intermediate position to the pivot position.

In this way, by releasing the restraint of either the front or rear of the lid body 40 by the forward and backward movement of the operating member 60, at the same time, the other of the front and rear of the lid body 40 is rotatably restrained to the box body 30. Therefore, the lid body 40 can be freely opened and closed from any direction, either before or after it is easy to use.

In the storage device 20 described above, when the lid body 40 is opened and closed, the load is concentrated on each of the pair of front and rear hinge shafts 50, 50, 51, 51, which serve as the center of rotation. The shape may be one that simply protrudes outward or retracts inward, and can be downsized. Therefore, there is no risk of increasing the weight even if it is made of a material having high rigidity. Further, the operating member 60 that follows the hinge shafts 50 and 51 only needs to have guide grooves 65 and 65 that engage with the hinge shafts 50 and 51, and can be made thin, and can be incorporated in the lid body 40 or the like. However, it can be provided so that it does not appear outside.

Incidentally, in the article storage device according to the above embodiment,
While the hinge shaft is provided on the lid body side and the fitting hole is provided on the box body side, as an opposite aspect, the hinge shaft may be provided on the box body side and the fitting hole may be provided on the lid body side.

Further, in the article storage device according to the above-described embodiment, the longitudinal directions of the lid body and the box body coincide with the front-back direction, but the longitudinal direction of the lid body and the like need not necessarily be limited to the front-back direction. It is also possible to set the lateral direction, that is, the left-right direction in this embodiment as the front-back direction.

In this case, the mounting directions and shapes of the hinge shafts and the operating members on both the front and rear sides may be set in correspondence with the front-rear direction which coincides with the lateral direction. As described above, assuming that the lateral direction is the front-back direction, the lid body of the container device shown in FIG. 4 can be opened and closed in the left-right direction of the seat orthogonal to the front-back direction of the lid body.

[0038]

According to the container case of the present invention, each hinge shaft, which receives the highest load and requires strength when the lid body is opened and closed, is capable of projecting and retracting so as to simply project outward or retract inward. It is sufficient to provide it on either one of them, and since it is possible to reduce the size without making the parts bulky, it is possible to reduce the weight as a whole.

Further, since the operating member that follows each hinge shaft may have a guide groove that engages with each hinge shaft,
Since it can be made thin and can be incorporated into the lid body, etc., the main part of the operating member should not appear outside.
You can improve the appearance and safety.

With such a simple structure and high appearance and high safety, the lid body can be opened and closed from any direction in the front or rear direction, so that small articles can be put in and out from the storage opening of the box body. Easy and easy to use.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state where a box body and a lid body of a container case according to an embodiment of the present invention are separated.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a normal state of a hinge shaft and an operating member provided on a lid body of the container device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory view of a hinge shaft and an operating member provided on a lid body of the container device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a vehicle seat equipped with a container device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20 ... Storage device 30 ... Box body 32 ... Storage opening 33 ... Peripheral part 34 ... Fitting hole 40 ... Lid body 41 ... Back plate member 50, 51 ... Hinge shaft 60 ... Operating member 65 ... Front guide groove 67 ... Rear guide groove

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A storage device comprising a box body having a storage opening, and a lid body capable of opening and closing the storage opening of the box body, wherein both the front and rear sides of one of the box body and the lid body. A pair of hinge shafts that can be retracted at a pivotal position that protrudes outward along a substantially horizontal axis that is perpendicular to the front-rear direction and a retracted position that retracts inward, respectively. On the other front and rear sides, when the pair of hinge shafts are in the pivotal position, the distal ends of the pair of hinge shafts are rotatably engaged and restrained,
When the pair of hinge shafts are in the storage position, the pair of fitting holes are provided so that the distal ends of the pair of hinge shafts are released and restraint is released, and one of the box body and the lid body in which the hinge shafts are provided. In addition, an operating member with which the proximal ends of the pair of front and rear hinge shafts are respectively engaged is provided so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, and in front of and behind the operating member, along with the movement of the operating member in the front-rear direction, In order for the hinge shaft to follow one of the pivot position and the storage position, the front guide groove for guiding each proximal end side of the pair of front hinge shafts and the pair of rear hinge shafts to the other of the pivot position and the storage position. In order to be driven, a rear guide groove for guiding each base end side of a pair of rear side hinge shafts is provided, and a container device.