JPH09199869A - Opening/closing mechanism of case - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an opening/closing mechanism which hardly causes damage to a case to deteriorate it in external appearance even if the mechanism is repeatedly opened and closed by a method wherein the mechanism of a case which is opened or closed by inserting an implement and applying an external force to it is made to have an implement insertion opening constituted in 2 steps. SOLUTION: A case 10 is opened through such a manner that a minus driver 40 is inserted into a groove 32 provided to the case 10 and twisted. In this case, the groove 32 is composed of an inner narrow part 33 and an outer broad part 34 where the tip of the driver 40 is easily inserted. Therefore, when a minus drivers is inserted into the groove 32 to open the case 10, an external force is locally applied to the step 33a of the narrow part 33, so that even if it is damaged in the step 33a, it causes no damage to a part (near to the inlet of the groove 32) of the outer broad part 34 near to the inlet, so that the case 10 is protected against damage which deteriorates it in external appearance even if it is repeatedly opened or closed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a case opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing by inserting an article and applying an external force.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a transmitter, for example, when a battery is used as a power source, it is necessary to replace the battery. Therefore, it is necessary to open and close a part of the case. In addition, as an opening / closing mechanism for such a case, conventionally, there is the following one. That is, in order to facilitate the opening and closing, a screw tightening structure is not adopted, and a structure in which a part of the case is held by a claw that elastically engages, and a simple groove or the like (the insertion portion of the container) is used as the opening and closing means. There is a structure in which an instrument such as a driver or a coin is inserted and pryed down there.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional case of such a transmitter. In this case, the claws 2 formed on the inner edge of the upper case 1 elastically engage with the recesses of the inner edge of the lower case 3 to be held in a closed state without using screws. By inserting the driver 5 or the like into the groove 4 formed on the outer peripheral side of the joint portion of the lower case 3 and prying it, the engagement of the claw 2 is released and the upper case 1 is opened with respect to the lower case 3. It is a thing.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional opening / closing mechanism, there is a high possibility that the design portion will be damaged when it is pryed, and the appearance will be impaired. There was a problem that the product value was significantly reduced. That is, for example, in the case shown in FIG. 5, the corner 4a at the entrance of the groove 4 comes into contact with an inserted driver or the like and locally receives a large force to cause damage such as deformation, wear, or tearing. As the above is repeated, the appearance of the outer surfaces of the upper case 1 and the lower case 3 is significantly impaired. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an opening / closing mechanism for a case in which a device is inserted and pryed, and the opening / closing mechanism for the case does not cause damage to the appearance even if the opening / closing operation is repeated. .

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the case opening / closing mechanism according to claim 1 is a case opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing by inserting an article and applying an external force. Is configured in two stages.

Further, the opening / closing mechanism of the case according to claim 2 is characterized in that the case is composed of an upper case and a lower case, and the insertion portion is formed by the upper case and the lower case.

Further, in the case opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention, the case is a case of a signal transmitter which has at least a replaceable battery therein, is portable, and transmits a predetermined signal. Characterize.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, an example in which the present invention is applied to a transmitter of a keyless entry system will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the overall structure of the transmitter, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a case of the transmitter, and FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view showing an essential part of the case of the transmitter. The keyless entry system is a system for remotely operating a vehicle door lock or the like by wireless communication.

The transmitter of this example includes a case 10 composed of an upper case 11 and a lower case 12, as shown in FIG.
Inside the case 10, a base 13, a rubber mount 14, a battery 15, a minus terminal 16, and a plus terminal 17 are housed. The board 13 is equipped with micro switches 18 and 19 for operation, a transmitter 20 for transmitting a wireless signal such as an infrared signal, and an electric circuit as a transmitter formed therein. The negative terminal 16 and the positive terminal It is connected to the battery 15 via 17 and is supplied with power.

The rubber pound 14 covers and protects the surface of the base 13, and the micro switches 18, 19 are provided.
At a position corresponding to, a flexible portion 21, which is easily deformed so that the microswitches 18, 19 can be pressed.
22 are formed. In addition, the flexible portions 21 and 22
Is exposed to the outside through the openings 23 and 24 formed in the upper case 11 and can be pressed by the user. When the flexible portion 21 (micro switch 18) is pressed, for example, a signal for door lock operation is given. Is output and the flexible portion 22 (micro switch 19) is pressed, for example, a signal for unlocking the door is output. Also, lower case 1
A concave portion 25 into which the battery 15 fits is formed in the battery 2, and the battery 15 is stably stored and held at a predetermined position.

As shown in FIG. 2, the case 10 has, for example, a claw 31 formed on the inner edge of the upper case 11,
By elastically engaging the concave portion of the inner edge of the lower case 12,
It is configured to be held closed without the use of screws. In addition, the case 10 is configured such that the engagement of the claw 31 is released by inserting and prying a tool into a groove 32 (insertion portion) formed on one end side of an outer periphery of a joint portion between the upper case 11 and the lower case 12. The case 11 is opened with respect to the lower case 12.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the case 10 is opened by, for example, inserting a minus driver 40 (ware) into the groove 32 and twisting and twisting. In this case, the groove 32 has a two-step shape including a narrow portion 33 on the back side and a large portion 34 on the inlet side, and a small gap is formed in the narrow portion 33 on the back side, for example, at the tip of the minus driver 40. The size is set so that it can be inserted with. Therefore, when the case 10 is inserted into the groove 32 and the case 10 is pryed open, a local force is applied to the stepped portion 33a at the entrance of the narrow width portion 33, which may be damaged. However, damage near the entrance of the large portion 34 (that is, near the entrance of the groove 32) is reliably prevented.

Therefore, in case 10 of this example,
The appearance of the transmitter of the keyless entry system is not impaired by the opening and closing of the case 10, and its commercial value can be kept high. That is, even if the stepped portion 33a at the entrance of the small width portion 33 is damaged by repeated opening / closing operations, this damage is not observed from the outside and does not impair the appearance.

The opening / closing mechanism of the present invention is not limited to the case of the transmitter of the keyless entry system, but can be applied to any case as long as it is a type that can be pryed open by inserting an article and the same effect can be obtained. You can For example, it may be a case of a transmitter other than the keyless entry system, or another electric device (for example, a case of a remote controller of a home electric device, a radio, an electronic notebook, a pager, a mobile phone, a modem of a personal computer, a transceiver, or the like).

Further, it is not limited to the case of portable electric equipment, but may be fixedly installed in a house or the like, such as a frame 50 of a general power outlet shown in FIG. The frame 50 of the power outlet shown in FIG. 4 has a structure in which a lid member 52 that covers the periphery of the outlet insertion hole 51 on the front surface is held in the closed position by the engagement of claws (not shown) on the back surface. , This lid member 52
The lid member 52 can be opened by inserting a flat-blade screwdriver or the like into a notch 53 (insertion portion) formed in the central portion of the upper end surface of the and then prying. When the present invention is applied, the notch 53 may have a two-step shape having a large upper surface so that the inserted flat-blade screwdriver or the like comes into contact with the narrow inner side to pry. . In this way, the aesthetic appearance of the interior of the house can be kept high without causing damage to the lid member 52 that can be observed from the front side.

Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied to an opening / closing mechanism for a lid member in a large machine such as a vehicle. For example, a wheel cap of a vehicle tire wheel has a structure in which a flat-blade screwdriver or the like is normally inserted into a notch formed at one location of the outer peripheral edge to pry the wheel cap. The shape can also prevent damage that impairs the appearance. In this case, the tire wheel of the vehicle corresponds to the case of the present invention.

[0017]

According to the case opening / closing mechanism of the present invention, in the case opening / closing mechanism that opens and closes by inserting an article and applying an external force, the insertion portion of the article is configured in two stages. Therefore, a portion that may be damaged by the opening operation by inserting the container becomes a step portion at the back of the insertion portion having a two-step shape, and the occurrence of damage that impairs the appearance is surely prevented.

Particularly, in the case opening / closing mechanism according to the second aspect, the case is composed of an upper case and a lower case, and the insertion portion is formed by the upper case and the lower case. With a mere groove-shaped insertion part, damage that impairs the appearance occurs in both the upper case and the lower case, but by applying the present invention, it is possible to keep the appearance of the upper case and the lower case high. .

Further, in the case opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention, the case is a case of a signal transmitter which has at least a replaceable battery therein, is portable, and transmits a predetermined signal. The aesthetics of this transmitter, which is carried and always visible to the user, is not impaired, and its commercial value can be maintained at a high level.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an overall configuration of a transmitter of a keyless entry system which is an example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a case of the transmitter.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a main part of a case of the transmitter.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a power outlet which is another example to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a main part of a case having a conventional opening / closing mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 case 11 upper case 12 lower case 15 battery 32 groove (insertion part) 40 driver (equipment)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A case opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing a container by inserting a container and applying an external force to the container, wherein the container insertion portion is formed in two stages. 2. The opening / closing mechanism for a case according to claim 1, wherein the case is composed of an upper case and a lower case, and the insertion portion is formed by the upper case and the lower case. 3. The case according to claim 1, wherein the case is a case of a signal transmitter that has at least a replaceable battery built therein, is portable, and transmits a predetermined signal. Opening and closing mechanism.