JPH11129824A - Lock structure for roof box - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lock structure for a roof box whereby in the case of performing key operation, insufficiency of a closed condition of a box cover can be recognized. SOLUTION: In a lower end of a lock part 8, a down-facing protrusion part 12 positioned in one end side of a lock groove 11 is formed, consequently a closed condition of a box cover is temporarily insufficient, even when a position of the lock part 8 comes to be higher than a regular position, a bending part 18 of a lock plate 19 rotated by key operation interferes with the protrusion part 12 in the vicinity of one end side of the lock groove 11, by impeding any more rotation, by this fact, the closed condition of the box cover can be recognized to be insufficient by a key operator, the box cover can be placed newly in a surely closed condition.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lock structure for a roof box mounted on a roof of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a roof box for storing luggage is sometimes mounted on a roof of an automobile. This type of roof box is composed of a container-shaped box main body fixed to the roof, and a box cover that opens and closes an upper portion of the box main body around a hinge provided at one end of the box main body. (See Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-8097).

[0003] A lock portion is provided on the box cover side, and a key cylinder having a rotary lock plate is provided on the box body side, and the lock plate and the lock portion are engaged with each other. Thus, the closed state of the box cover is maintained, and the box cover can be opened upward by releasing the engagement.

A lock groove having an arcuate bottom surface is formed on the side surface of the lock portion along the front-rear direction. At the tip of the lock plate, the lock plate rotates into the lock groove by rotation of the lock plate. A bent portion that engages with the bottom surface is formed. The lock groove of the lock portion is formed near the lower end portion of the lock portion, and at a position where the box cover is securely closed, the bent portion of the lock plate enters so that the box cover is closed. When the closed state is insufficient, the bent portion of the lock plate does not enter the lock groove because the lock portion is higher than the normal position, and the lock plate is in an idle swing state passing below the lock portion.

[0005]

However, in such a conventional technique, when the closed state of the box cover is not sufficient, the bent state of the lock plate is set to the idle state in which the bent part of the lock plate passes below the lock part. However, the key operation itself in the key cylinder will rotate in the same manner as in a normal state even if it is swung, so the key operator must engage the bent part of the lock plate with the arcuate bottom surface of the lock groove. However, there is a possibility that the vehicle may be driven as it is, assuming that the vehicle is engaged.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to such a conventional technique. When a key operation is performed, a roof box that can recognize that the closed state of the box cover is insufficient is recognized. A lock structure is provided.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
The roof box comprises a container-shaped box body fixed to the roof of the automobile, and a box cover that opens and closes an upper portion of the box body around a hinge at one end of the box body. A downward lock portion is attached to the peripheral portion on the end side, a lock groove having an arc-shaped bottom surface is formed on the side surface of the lock portion along the front-rear direction, and a cylindrical key cylinder is attached to the peripheral portion of the box body. And a lock structure of a roof box provided with a rotatable lock plate in which a bent portion at the tip of the key cylinder enters the lock groove from one end side and engages with the arc-shaped bottom surface. And a downwardly protruding portion located at one end of the lock groove.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the downward protruding portion located at one end of the lock groove is formed at the lower end of the lock portion, the closed state of the box cover may be insufficient if the lock state is insufficient. Even if the position of the part is higher than the normal position, the bent part of the lock plate rotated by key operation will interfere with the protrusion near one end of the lock groove and prevent further rotation, so that Therefore, the key operator can recognize that the closed state of the box cover is insufficient,
The box cover can be securely closed again.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a downwardly projecting portion is also formed on the other end of the lock groove, and an arc portion that interferes with the upper surface of the key cylinder is formed between the two projecting portions.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a downwardly projecting portion is also formed at the other end of the lock groove, and an arc portion that interferes with the upper surface of the key cylinder is formed between the two projecting portions. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the box cover from rattling in the front-rear direction due to the interference between the curved portion and the upper surface of the key cylinder.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a downward latch is attached to a peripheral edge of the other end of the box cover, a concave portion is formed on a side surface of the latch, and the latch is provided on a peripheral edge of the box body. A latch plate having a hook portion at the upper end for engaging with the concave portion is provided in a state where the latch plate is urged in the engaging direction, and the latch plate is provided with engagement releasing means for moving the latch plate in the anti-engaging direction. .

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the box cover has a sub-latch structure formed by engagement between the latch portion and the latch plate in addition to the main lock structure formed by engagement between the lock portion and the lock plate. Since the lock is also doubly locked, the sub-latch structure can prevent the box cover from being opened even if the vehicle is driven while forgetting to lock the main lock.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

On a roof 1 of an automobile, two carriers 2 are installed before and after, and a roof box 3 is mounted on the carriers 2. Roof box 3
It has a capsule-shaped box body 4 that is shaped like a capsule that is long in the front-rear direction and is fixed to the carrier 2, and a box cover 5 that covers the top of the box body 4.
The box cover 5 has a structure that can be opened and closed around a hinge 6 provided on the right end side. Gas stays 7 are provided between the box body 4 and the box cover 5 at the front and rear, so that the box cover 5 is automatically opened.

On the left end side of the roof box 3, lock structures, which will be described later, for maintaining the closed state of the box cover 5, are formed at two front and rear places. Since an auxiliary latch structure described later is also provided adjacent to the front lock structure, the front lock structure will be described below as a representative.

A downward lock portion 8 and a latch portion 9 are integrally attached to the left peripheral portion of the box cover 5. A lock groove 11 having an arc-shaped bottom surface 10 is formed on the inner side surface of the lock portion 8 so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction. A lock groove 11 is provided at the lower end of the lock portion 8.
Projections 12, 13 located on the front end side and the lower end side of
Are formed downward, and an arc portion 14 is formed between the projections 12 and 13. A concave portion 15 is formed on the inner surface of the latch portion 9 on the front side of the lock portion 8.

On the other hand, a key cylinder 16 is provided on the periphery of the box body 4 corresponding to the lock portion 8 and the latch portion 9.
And a latch plate 17 are provided. The key cylinder 16 has a cylindrical shape, and its inner end is rotated by a key operation so that the bent portion 18 at the tip enters the lock groove 11 from the front end side.
9 are provided. And the bent part 18 is the lock groove 1
The closed state of the box cover 5 is maintained by engaging with the first arc-shaped bottom surface 10. The arc portion 14 formed on the lock portion 8 matches the upper surface of the key cylinder 16, and the arc portion 14 interferes with the upper surface of the key cylinder 16, so that the box cover 5
Rattling in the front-rear direction is prevented.

A hook portion 20 is formed at the upper end of the latch plate 17 and can be engaged with the concave portion 15 of the latch portion 9. The latch plate 17 can be tilted back and forth about the lower end, and is urged by a spring 21 provided at the lower end in a direction in which the hook portion 20 at the upper end engages with the recess 15. Furthermore, this latch plate 17 has
An operation button 22 as “disengagement means” is provided, and by pressing this operation button 22, the latch plate 17 can be tilted in the anti-engagement direction.

Next, how to use the roof box 3 will be described. First, when the box cover 5 is closed, not only the main lock structure by the engagement between the lock portion 8 and the lock plate 19 but also the sub-latch structure by the engagement between the latch portion 9 and the latch plate 17. Therefore, even if the vehicle is driven by forgetting the lock by the main lock structure, the box cover 5 can be prevented from being opened by the sub-latch structure.

When the roof box 3 is to be opened, the front and rear key cylinders 16 are turned by operating the keys. Then, the bent portion 18 of the lock plate 19 and the lock groove 11
Is disengaged from the arc-shaped bottom surface 10. However, in this state, since the hook portion 20 of the latch plate 17 is still engaged with the concave portion 15 of the latch portion 9, the operation button 22
Is pressed to release the engagement between the hook portion 20 and the concave portion 15. Then, since the force for closing the box cover 5 is eliminated, the box cover 5 is automatically opened by the force of the gas stay 7.

When the box cover 5 is closed, the hook portion 20 of the latch plate 17
Engages, the closed state of the box cover 5 is temporarily maintained. The latch plate 1 is inserted into the recess 15 of the latch 9.
7 is engaged with the box cover 5.
Is securely pushed to the closed position,
Lock plate 19 is operated by key operation of key cylinder 16.
Is rotated, the bent portion 18 surely enters the lock groove 11 of the lock portion 8 and engages with the arc-shaped bottom surface 10.
Thereby, the completely closed state of the box cover 5 is maintained.

If the box cover 5 is closed in an insufficiently closed state for some reason when closing the box cover 5 (for example, the latch section 9 may be placed on the hook section 20 of the latch plate 17). In such a case, even if the bent portion 18 of the lock plate 19 is caused to enter the lock groove 11 by the key operation of the key cylinder 16, the bent portion 18 hits the protrusion 12 on the front end side of the lock groove 11. Since no further key operation is possible, the operator can recognize that the closed state of the box cover 5 is insufficient.

Further, since the projection 12 is formed on the front end side of the lock groove 11 and the bent portion 18 hits the projection 12 at an early stage, the operator can surely recognize an abnormal state. Accordingly, the box cover 5 can be brought back to the normal closed state, and the latch plate 17 and the lock plate 19 can be reliably engaged with each other. Therefore, the vehicle does not run while the box cover 5 is inadvertently closed.

[0024]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the downward protruding portion located at one end of the lock groove is formed at the lower end of the lock portion, the closed state of the box cover may be insufficient. Even if the position of the lock portion is higher than the normal position, the bent portion of the lock plate rotated by the key operation interferes with the protrusion near one end side of the lock groove and prevents further rotation. From this, the key operator can recognize that the closed state of the box cover is insufficient, and the box cover can be reliably closed again.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a downwardly projecting portion is also formed at the other end of the lock groove, and an arc portion that interferes with the upper surface of the key cylinder is formed between the two projecting portions. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the box cover from rattling in the front-rear direction due to the interference between the curved portion and the upper surface of the key cylinder.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the box cover has a sub-latch structure formed by the engagement between the latch portion and the latch plate in addition to the main lock structure formed by the engagement between the lock portion and the lock plate. Since the lock is also doubly locked, the sub-latch structure can prevent the box cover from being opened even if the vehicle is driven while forgetting to lock the main lock.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a roof box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a latch plate and a lock plate.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a completely engaged state of the lock unit and the latch unit along the line SA-SA shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3, showing an incompletely engaged state of the lock portion and the latch portion;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line SB-SB shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line SC-SC shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view showing a lock unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Roof 3 Roof box 4 Box body 5 Box cover 6 Hinge 8 Lock part 9 Latch part 10 Arc-shaped bottom surface 11 Lock groove 12 Projection part (one end side) 13 Projection part (other end side) 14 Arc part 15 Depression 16 Key cylinder 17 Latch plate 18 Bend 19 Lock plate 20 Hook 22 Operation button (disengagement means)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A roof box comprising: a container-shaped box main body fixed to a roof of an automobile; and a box cover for opening and closing an upper portion of the box main body around a hinge at one end of the box main body. A downward lock portion is attached to a peripheral edge portion on the other end side of the box cover, and a lock groove having an arc-shaped bottom surface is formed along a front-rear direction on a side surface of the lock portion, and a columnar shape is formed on a peripheral edge portion of the box body. A lock structure of a roof box provided with a rotatable lock plate in which a key cylinder is mounted and a bent portion at the tip of the key cylinder enters the lock groove from one end side and engages with the arc-shaped bottom surface, A lock structure for a roof box, wherein a downwardly protruding portion located at one end of a lock groove is formed at a lower end of the lock portion. 2. The roof box locking structure according to claim 1, wherein a downwardly projecting portion is formed at the other end of the lock groove, and an arc portion between the two projecting portions interferes with the upper surface of the key cylinder. A lock structure for a roof box, wherein a lock structure is formed. 3. The lock structure for a roof box according to claim 1, wherein a downward latch portion is attached to a peripheral edge on the other end side of the box cover, and a concave portion is formed on a side surface of the latch portion. And a latch plate having a hook portion at the upper end for engaging with the concave portion of the latch portion is provided on the peripheral portion of the box body in a state where the latch plate is urged in the engagement direction, and the latch plate is attached to the latch plate in the anti-engagement direction. A lock structure for a roof box, comprising a disengaging means for moving.