JPH1054172A - Hinge device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To assist opening operation when a trunk lid is started to open by working one end of a strut through a strut member, and restricting the action of a thrust member by the engagement of a part of the thrust member with a plate means when a closed lid is in a lowered condition. SOLUTION: A plate means comprises a cam 12 having a recessed cam surface. A thrust member is provided with a thrust lever 16 which is turnably fitted to a lug 14 of a movable member 4 in the vicinity of a center part, a strut 10 is turnably fitted to the lever 16, and a cam follower 20 engaged with the cam 12 is fitted to the other end of the lever 16. When a trunk lid is started to open from the closed position, the lever 16 can be fumed counterclockwise by the cam 12, the strut 10 can be expanded due to the upward reaction of the cam follower 20, and the upward force at least to assist the opening action of the trunk lid is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hinged lid, and more particularly to an improvement in a device for assisting in lifting a trunk lid, a tailgate and a hood of a motor vehicle.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the field of the automotive industry, it has become important to be able to easily open a trunk lid, especially from a closed position. For example, when loading luggage and shopping luggage into the trunk of a car, it is often necessary to unlock the trunk lid with one hand and lift it up. These cars are
It is a real problem for the elderly and the frail.

[0003]

A sedan-type automobile trunk lid is distinguished from a so-called hatchback tailgate, and is generally a so-called S-shaped curved so-called one which is attached to each side of the trunk lid. The swan-neck-shaped bracket is hingedly mounted around one rotation axis, and the weight of the trunk lid is adjusted by a spring. However, this configuration has the following problems. In other words, the capacity of the trunk is reduced by the S-shaped blanket, and the bracket is pressed against the load in the trunk, which may cause serious damage to the load and the components of the trunk.

[0004] In order to solve this problem, it has been practiced to mount the trachlid so as to be able to rotate around a plurality of rotation axes using a multi-link mechanism. When the trunk lid is closed, the hinge device is collapsed and stored in narrow rain gutters provided on both sides of the trunk. Generally, a gas-filled strut is provided on each of the hinge devices in the trunk lid to assist the opening operation. Again, the struts must be located on both sides of the gutters to prevent the struts from entering the trunk space. The horizontal arrangement of the struts is mechanically disadvantageous and cannot be adequately assisted during the beginning of opening of the trunk lid, which needs the most assistance.

An object of the present invention is to improve a mechanism for lifting an automobile lid such as a hood or a trunk lid in an engine room.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention, a lid hinged to a body (typically a trunk lid or tail hinged to a vehicle body). A hinge that assists in lifting the gate), a hinge that allows the closure to rotate around the body, a first hinge portion attached to the body, and a hinge that can be attached to the closure. And a compressible strut acting between the second hinge portion and one end of the strut acting via a rotatable thrust member;
Movement of the thrust member is restrained by engagement of a portion thereof with the plate means while at least the two hinge portions are in proximity (i.e., when the lid is in the lowered position); Thus, in the initial stage of opening the lid, the hinge means is configured such that the plate means can rotate the thrust member by the force of the strut, and the lid can be lifted. .

[0007] Preferably, the plate member comprises an inclined linear plate. However, said plate means is advantageously constituted by a cam having a concave cam surface. The thrust member includes a lever rotatably attached to a hinge near a center thereof,
A cam follower engageable with the cam surface is provided at one end of the lever, and one end of the strut is rotatably connected to the other end.

In a preferred configuration, the cam is attached to a hinge attached to the main body, and the thrust member is attached to a hinge attached to the lid.

Further, a stop for limiting the rotational movement of the thrust member so that the relevant portion of the thrust member is accurately positioned in the first engagement position with the plate means while the lid is lowered. Is provided. The strut is a gas-filled strut.

In a preferred arrangement, the hinge device is provided on both sides of a lid, for example, a hood or a trunk lid. In particular, the hinge is a four-link hinge. The first hinge is a long member, and one end of the strut is rotatably attached to an end of the first hinge separated from the plate means.

Preferably, the characteristics of the strut, the configuration of the cam and the cam follower, and the operation of the thrust member are selected so that a positive opening force is applied to the lid by the opening operation of the entire lid. It is configured. The device according to the invention is particularly suitable for trunk lids of motor vehicles, but can also be applied to hoods of motor vehicles (closing or lids of engine compartments). Furthermore, this device can be applied to fields other than the automobile industry where heavy lids need to be lifted. The present invention provides a hinge device applicable to, for example, a lid and a main body of an automobile.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a lift assist device, ie, a compressible, mounted between a closure and a body rotatably mounted to allow the closure to approach and separate. One end of the strut is rotatably attached directly to the main body,
The other end is rotatably attached to the thrust member,
The thrust member is rotatably attached to the lid itself, and ramp means is attached to the main body.When at least the lid and the main body come close to each other, the thrust member is attached to the lid. A lift assist device is provided which engages ramp means and wherein the extension of the strut is converted into a lifting action of the thrust member relative to the ramp means.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to a conventional hinge device shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, a multi-link type hinge device is fixed to a rain gutter portion on both sides of a trunk, and is attached to a trunk lid. And a moving member 4. The moving member 4 is rotatably provided with respect to the fixed member 2 by an inner link member 6 and an outer link member 8, that is, a link member located outside with respect to a distal end of the trunk lid. In the schematic diagrams of FIGS. 7 to 9, the link members 6, 8 are shown simply as thick straight lines.

A gas-filled strut 10 is rotatably attached to the outer end of the fixing member 2. The other end of the strut 10 is rotatably attached to the outer end of the fixing member.

Referring to FIGS. 7-9, it can be seen that when the trunk lid is closed, the compression reaction of the struts progressively decreases. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
A slight change in the angle of the trunk lid, i.e. the moving member 4, in or near the closed position does not substantially affect the strut 10. Thus, when attempting to open the trunk lid, initially, the strut does not assist in opening the trunk lid.

An embodiment of the present invention that solves the above-described problems is illustrated in FIG. In this multi-link type hinge device, substantially the same components as those in the conventional hinge device are denoted by the same reference numerals. The improved hinge device shown in FIG. 1 has a special concave cam shape and has a fixed plate or fixed cam 12 fixed to the fixed member 2.

A lug 14 is formed on the moving member 4, and a thrust lever 16 is rotatably attached to the lug 14. Instead of a conventional mounting point 18 on the moving member of the strut 10, the strut 10 is rotatably mounted on a lever 16. A cam follower 20 that engages with the cam 12 is attached to the other end of the lever 16.

Referring also to FIG. 2, there is shown the hinge device of the embodiment of the present invention in the middle of the opening operation. A stop 22 is provided on the lug 14 of the moving member to prevent the lever 16 from rotating too far in the counterclockwise direction relative to the moving member 4.

When the trunk lid is opened from the closed position shown in FIG.
Can be rotated in the counterclockwise direction with respect to. At this time, the strut 10 can be extended due to the upward reaction of the cam follower 20, and an upward force is provided that at least assists the opening operation of the trunk lid. When the cam follower 20 reaches the upper end of the cam 12, the lever 16 abuts the stop 22, at which time the strut 10 continues to extend and is tilted at an angle sufficient to open the trunk lid.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown an application example of the present invention to a hood or an engine hood. The hood 24 is attached to the vehicle body on both sides of the hood by a hinge device (not shown) having a single axis. Gas filled struts hold the bonnet open as shown. In the vehicle body, an inclination or cam 28 substantially similar to the cam 12 of the embodiment of the present invention described above is mounted inside the engine room.

A lever 30 similar to the above-described lever 16 is rotatably mounted on the inner edge of the hood 24. A cam follower 32 is attached to the lower end of the lever 30. The other end of the lever 30 is connected to a tip of a strut 36 at a rotation connection part 34.

The embodiment of FIG. 3 operates in the same manner as the previously described embodiment. When the hood 24 starts opening from the closed position shown in FIG. 4, the lever 30 is rotated by the cam 28 to extend the strut 26, and the opening operation of the hood 24 is continued.

The turning connecting portion 34 of the strut is, for example,
The hood 24 is preferably easily disengaged so that it can be opened further when performing extensive work on the engine inside the hood.

The exact shape of the cams 12, 28 must be selected to be extended relative to the hinge configuration so that an appropriate constant opening force is applied to the trunk lid or bonnet by the struts. Conversely, the cam shape must be selected so that the trunk lid or bonnet can be closed smoothly without the sudden increase in the required closing force when the cam engages when closing the trunk lid or bonnet. .

FIG. 5 shows a modification of the cam and cam follower shown in FIGS. In this embodiment, the cam follower has been replaced by a pinion 40 and the cam has been replaced by an inclined rack 42. The rack 42 has involute teeth that mesh with the teeth of the pinion 40. Pinion 4
The 0 bearing is constructed somewhat rigid so that when the trunk lid is fully opened and the pinion is disengaged from the rack 42, the pinion remains in the same rotational position as when disengaged from the last tooth of the rack. It is supposed to be. Therefore,
When the trunk lid is closed again, the pinion smoothly re-engages with the rack at the previous rotational position.

The operation of the hinge device according to this modified embodiment is the operation and application described with reference to FIGS. The advantage of this variant is that the pinion starts rotating as soon as it re-engages the rack. In this regard, in the arrangement of FIGS. 1 and 2, the cam follower 20 first slides on the cam 12 due to the high normal force acting through the strut 10.

An alternative embodiment of the cam device described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 is shown in FIG. It should be noted that similar components have been given the same reference numerals, but FIG. 6 is left and right interchangeable with FIGS.

In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the cam 12 of FIGS.
Are replaced by the cam 50. The cam 50 is rotatably attached to the fixing member 2 of the hinge device at an end separated from the strut 10. The cam 50 is urged upward by a compression spring 52 attached to the fixed member 2. The spring 52 is disposed around a lug 54 provided substantially at the center of the cam 50. The spring 52 is illustrated as a compression coil spring, but may be configured as a leaf spring or a rubber block.

When the trunk lid is completely closed,
The cam follower 20 engages with the tip of the cam 50 and the spring 52
Is in a released extended position as shown. Therefore,
At this time, a relatively large closing force is first required.

As the cam is pressed downward by the cam follower 20 against the spring force, the force required to close the cam gradually increases. The increase can be mitigated by the geometric change of the lever 16 and the strut 10. Conversely, a large opening force is obtained at the beginning of the opening operation,
The trunk lid can be opened smoothly.

In the case of the trunk lid, in particular, the cam 1
The profile of the 2, 50 or rack 42, the inclination and the arrangement of the hinge device can be such that once the trunk lid is released, it can be opened without manual assistance. In this case, it can be configured that the fastener of the trunk lid can be released by remote control from the interior of the vehicle without the driver turning to the rear of the vehicle to open the trunk lid. Alternatively, from a safety point of view, the hinge device may be configured such that even when the trunk lid is released, the trunk lid is only partially opened at the beginning. Then, the trunk lid is completely opened by slightly applying a manual force.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a hinge device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the hinge device of FIG. 1, showing a partially opened position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an application of the hinge device of the present invention to a hood of an automobile.

FIG. 4 shows the embodiment of FIG. 3 in a closed position;

FIG. 5 is a side view of an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a side view of still another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of a hinge device according to the prior art.

FIG. 8 is a schematic side view of a hinge device according to the prior art.

FIG. 9 is a schematic side view of a hinge device according to the prior art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 ... Fixing member 4 ... Moving member 10 ... Strut 12 ... Cam 16 ... Thrust lever 20 ... Cam follower 22 ... Stop

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. A hinge device for assisting in lifting a lid hingedly attached to a main body, wherein the hinge allows the lid to rotate around the main body, and a hinge attached to the main body. A compressible strut acting between a first hinge portion and a second hinge portion attachable to the closure, one end of the strut acting via a rotatable thrust member. The movement of the thrust member is constrained by engagement of a portion thereof with the plate means while at least the two hinge portions are in close proximity, whereby in the initial stage of opening of the lid, A hinge device wherein the plate means enables the thrust member to rotate by the force of the strut, and the lid is lifted. 2. The hinge device according to claim 1, wherein said plate means is attached to said first hinge portion. 3. The hinge device according to claim 1, wherein the plate member is an inclined linear plate. 4. The hinge device according to claim 1, wherein said plate means is constituted by a cam having a concave cam surface. 5. A cam follower, wherein the thrust member has a lever rotatably attached to a hinge portion near a center portion thereof, and a cam follower engageable with the cam surface at one end of the lever. The hinge device according to claim 4, wherein one end of the strut is rotatably connected to the other end. 6. The cam is attached to a hinge attached to the main body, and the thrust member comprises:
The hinge device according to claim 4, wherein the hinge device is attached to a hinge portion attached to the lid. 7. The hinge device according to claim 1, wherein the plate means includes a rack having teeth formed thereon which can be engaged with a pinion, and the pinion is attached to one end of the thrust member. 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said plate member includes a cam rotatably attached to said first hinge portion, and means for urging said cam upward. Item 4. The hinge device according to item 1. 9. The hinge device according to claim 8, wherein the cam is rotatably mounted at an end of the cam separated from the strut. 10. The hinge device according to claim 8, wherein the urging means is a compression coil spring. 11. The hinge device further includes a rotating motion of the thrust member such that an associated portion of the thrust member is accurately positioned in an initial engagement position with the plate means while the lid is lowered. The hinge device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising a stop for limiting. 12. The hinge device according to claim 1, wherein the strut is a gas-filled strut. 13. The first hinge part is a long member, and one end of the strut is rotatably attached to an end of the first hinge part which is separated from the plate means. 13. The hinge device according to any one of items 1 to 12. 14. The hinge device according to claim 1, wherein the hinge is a four-link hinge. 15. The strut characteristics, the configuration of the cam and the cam follower, and the operation of the thrust member are selected and configured so that a positive opening force is applied to the lid by the opening operation of the entire lid. The hinge device according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the hinge device is provided. 16. The hinge device according to claim 1, wherein the lid is mounted on a main body of an automobile. 17. A hinged lid, wherein the hinge device according to claim 1 is arranged on both sides. 18. A lift assist device, comprising a compressible strut mounted between a lid and a body rotatably mounted so that the lid can approach and separate from the lid. Has one end pivotally attached directly to the main body, the other end pivotally attached to a thrust member, and the thrust member itself is pivotally attached to the lid. Ramp means is attached to the body, the thrust member is engaged with the ramp means at least when the lid and the body are in close proximity, and the strut is extended by the ramp of the thrust member. A lift assist device that is converted into a lifting action on the means.