JPH07251663A - Retractable assist grip - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To provide an improved retractable assist grip capable of reducing the operating force during storage or use without deteriorating the manufacturability of the core material. [Structure] A flexible grip body 1 in which an extension portion 3 of a core material made of an elastic material is exposed from both ends, and a core material through a long hole 4 formed in the extension portion of the core material along a longitudinal direction The retractable assist grip having a guide mechanism fixed to the vehicle body for slidingly guiding the extended portion of the core member is provided with a rolling member 7 capable of sliding contact with the extended portion of the core member. A locking portion 16 that can be engaged with the rolling member is provided at the end of the extending portion of the core member, and the locking portion engages with the rolling member so that the grip body is kept in the maximum withdrawn state. To do.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a retractable assist grip attached to the interior of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to ensure a stable riding posture when a vehicle turns, an assist grip that can be gripped by passengers / occupants is sometimes attached to the inner surface of the roof of the vehicle. As the assist grip, a flexible grip body in which an extending portion of a core material made of an elastic material is exposed from both ends and a core material of the core material through a long hole formed in the extending portion of the core material along a longitudinal direction are provided. A retractable type having a guide mechanism fixed to the vehicle body for slidingly guiding the extending portion and being generally in close contact with the inner surface of the roof and being capable of being pulled out only when in use is disclosed in It is proposed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-279035.

In the retractable assist grip disclosed in the above publication, when not in use, the grip body is stored at a position along the inner surface of the roof due to the elastic restoring force exerted by the core material. The grip body can be pulled out from the inner surface of the roof against the restoring force. Further, in the above publication, in order to reduce the sliding resistance when the core material slides on the base of the guide mechanism fixed to the vehicle body, the roller is axially supported by the bearing piece protruding from the core material. A structure has been proposed.

[0004]

However, according to the above-mentioned conventional structure, since the bearing member has to be provided on the core material which can be constituted by a simple leaf spring until then, the manufacturing of the core material itself becomes troublesome. However, there arises such a disadvantage that the yield of the material also decreases.

The present invention has been devised in order to eliminate such disadvantages of the prior art, and its main purpose is to:
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved retractable assist grip that can reduce the operating force during storage or use without lowering manufacturability of the core material.

[0006]

According to the present invention, such an object is to provide a flexible grip body in which an extending portion of a core material made of an elastic material is exposed from both ends, and an extending portion of the core material. A retractable assist grip having a guide mechanism fixed to the vehicle body for slidingly guiding the extending portion of the core member through a long hole formed along the longitudinal direction is provided. The guide mechanism is provided with a rolling member with which the portion can slide, and a locking portion that can engage with the rolling member is provided at the end of the extending portion of the core member,
This is achieved by engaging the locking portion with the rolling member so that the grip body is kept in the maximum withdrawn state.

[0007]

According to this structure, since the rolling member allows the core member to slide smoothly, the operating force for storing or withdrawing the core member is reduced. Moreover, since the rolling member is provided on the guide mechanism side, the shape of the core material may be the same as the conventional one, and the manufacturability of the core material does not deteriorate.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The structure of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a main part of a passenger compartment of an automobile to which a retractable assist grip constructed according to the present invention is applied. The elongated grip body 1 of this assist grip is disposed on the window frame side of the inner surface 2 of the roof along the front-rear direction of the vehicle body. The grip body 1 is integrally formed of a flexible synthetic resin material, and has a flat plate-shaped core member made of a highly elastic metal plate such as a spring member embedded therein.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, both ends of the core material (here, only one end is shown) are exposed from both ends of the grip body 1 and are extended. The extending portion 3 has a long hole 4 along the longitudinal direction of the grip body 1.
Have been opened respectively. And each of these extensions 3
Are guided and supported by a pair of guide mechanisms 5 fixed to the inner surface 2 of the roof.

The guide mechanism 5 comprises a base 6 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a roller 7 as a rolling member rotatably supported on the base 6, and a guide groove 8 with which the extending portion 3 can slide. However, the base 6 is recessed in the surface of the base 6 on the passenger compartment side, and a bearing portion 9 for supporting the roller 7 is formed at the outer end portion thereof. The bearing 9 is opened outward and has an opening smaller than the shaft diameter of the shafts 10 formed at both ends of the roller 7. When the shafts 10 at both ends of the roller 7 are pushed in, the bearing 9 is made of a material. Due to its elastic deformation, the opening widens and the shaft 1
When 0 is received and the shaft portion 10 is fitted, the opening is restored and narrowed, so that the roller 7 cannot fall off.

A bolt insertion hole 11 is formed in the center of the guide groove 8 of the base 6, and the extending portion 3 is provided in the guide groove 8.
The rectangular shaped retainer 12 made of metal is applied to the bolt 13 and the bolt 13 is screwed into the bolt hole (not shown) in the inner surface 2 of the roof, thereby sandwiching the extension 3 between the guide groove 8 and the retainer 12. In this state, the base 6 is fastened and fixed to the vehicle body together. A protrusion 14 for positioning is provided on the contact surface of the base 6 with the vehicle body.

Bearing portion 9 at the bottom of guide groove 8 of base 6
A cushion member 1 made of a rubber material is provided in a portion adjacent to
5 is buried.

On the other hand, the outermost end of the extending portion 3 of the core member is bent upward to form a locking portion 16.

Now, when not in use, the grip body 1 is stored along the inner surface 2 of the roof by the elastic force of the core material. To change from this state to the usable state,
If the grip body 1 is pulled out from the roof inner surface 2 against the elastic force of the core material, the guide groove 8 and the long hole 4
The extending portion 3 of the core member slides between the guide groove 8 and the retainer 12 guided by the engagement between the guide groove 8 and the retainer 12. At this time, the rolling resistance of the roller 7 reduces the sliding resistance of the extending portion 3. Further, the corner of the engaging portion 16 at the end of the extending portion 3 is formed by the roller 7
When the grip body 1 is further pulled out, the extension 3 is elastically deformed and the locking portion 16 rides over the roller 7. A hitting sound generated when the locking portion 16 gets over the roller 7 and hits the bottom of the guide groove 8 is absorbed by the cushion member 15 embedded in the bottom of the guide groove 8.

The withdrawal limit of the grip body 1 at this time is defined by the outer end of the elongated hole 4 contacting the bolt 13, and the outer surface of the locking portion 16 abuts the roller 7 so that the grip body 1 is withdrawn. Is retained.

When the grip body 1 is stored, if the grip body 1 is pushed in so that the locking portion 16 gets over the roller 7, the elastic force of the core material automatically brings the grip body 1 into the stored state along the inner surface 2 of the roof. The grip body 1 returns.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, the roller provided in the guide mechanism facilitates the slidability of the extending portion of the core member provided in the grip body, so that the grip body is stored. The operation force when performing or pulling out is reduced. In addition, since the roller is provided in the guide mechanism, it is not necessary to provide the roller bearing on the core material, and the manufacturability of the core material and the yield of the material are not reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a vehicle compartment to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Grip Main Body 2 Roof Inner Surface 3 Extending Part 4 Long Hole 5 Guide Mechanism 6 Base 7 Roller (Rolling Member) 8 Guide Groove 9 Bearing Part 10 Shaft Part 11 Bolt Insertion Hole 12 Retainer 13 Bolt 14 Positioning Protrusion 15 Cushion Member 16 Locking part

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hitoshi Yamaguchi 1 Toyota-cho, Toyota-shi, Aichi Toyota Motor Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A flexible grip body in which an extending portion of a core material made of an elastic material is exposed from both ends, and the core through an elongated hole formed in the extending portion of the core material along a longitudinal direction. A retractable assist grip having a guide mechanism fixed to a vehicle body for slidingly guiding an extending portion of a core material, wherein a rolling member capable of sliding contact with the extending portion of the core member is provided in the guide mechanism. In addition, a locking portion engageable with the rolling member is provided at an end of the extending portion of the core member, and the locking portion engages with the rolling member to maximize the withdrawal of the grip body. Retractable assist grip, characterized in that the state is maintained.