Device for receiving components

Abstract

A device (IDG) for accommodating a component (KO) is disclosed. The device has a housing (GH) comprising a housing wall (GHW, GHW2) and a channel portion (DAS) in the housing wall (GHW), the housing wall delimiting an interior space (IR) of the housing (GH). The component to be accommodated in the interior space comprises a sensing element (TE) having an actuating portion (BA) and a retaining portion (HA), the retaining portion being mechanically connected to the actuating portion and having at least one latching hook (RH) with a latching lug (RN). In addition, the component has a retaining seat (HT) having a latching edge (RK), wherein, when the component (KO) is accommodated in the interior space (IR), in a first state, the actuating portion (BA) is arranged in the channel portion of the housing wall, and in order to reach a second state in which the actuating portion is positioned in the interior space, the actuating portion can be displaced into the interior space in such a way that the latching lug of the at least one latching hook engages on the latching edge of the retaining seat. The latching connection formed in this way prevents a displacement of the actuating part in the direction of the passage section of the housing wall and enables non-destructive removal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for accommodating a component, in particular to a portable device, such as a radio key for a vehicle, which has a housing in which a component, in particular a component having a functional element, can be accommodated. Background Art

[0002] In order to prevent unauthorized access to vehicles, in particular motor vehicles, modern access devices in vehicles use electronic security systems in which, in order to authenticate the user, data communication is performed between a first onboard communication device (onboard control unit with corresponding antenna) and a second communication device in the user's mobile identification transmitter (such as a radio key or vehicle key), in particular via a radio interface. If the identification code is correctly transmitted from the mobile identification transmitter to the vehicle, specific doors or all doors can be locked or unlocked.

[0003] The mobile identification transmitter uses a battery as an energy source for exchanging radio signals between the mobile identification transmitter and the onboard communication device, which battery must be repeatedly replaced during an operating cycle of the associated access device, in particular in the case of frequent radio communications. It is conceivable here that the mobile identification transmitter has at least two parts, the functional elements (such as a battery holder with an associated battery) being mounted on one part, while a second part in the form of a protective housing can be arranged and fixed above the functional elements on the first part. Depending on the design of the first part and the second part, it can be a challenge to remove the two parts in such a way that the two parts remain undamaged, in particular in their visible area. Summary of the invention

[0004] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a possibility to construct a device which consists of two parts and which can be safely removed in a simple manner.

[0005] This object is achieved by the device according to the invention for receiving components.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, a device for accommodating a component is therefore provided. In this case, first the device comprises a housing, the housing comprising a housing wall and a channel portion in the housing wall, the housing wall defining the internal space of the housing. The channel portion can be used in particular to form a channel hole for entering the internal space from the outside of the housing. In addition, the device has the already mentioned component to be accommodated in the internal space. The component comprises a sensing element, the sensing element having an actuating portion, in particular for actuation by a user, and the component comprises a retaining portion, the retaining portion being operatively connected (in particular mechanically connected) to the actuating portion and having at least one latch hook with a latching lug. In addition, the component has a retaining seat, the sensing element can be moved relative to the retaining seat and the retaining seat has a latching edge. The retaining seat can be used to retain the sensing element and / or guide the movement of the sensing element. When the component is accommodated in the internal space, the actuating portion of the sensing element is in a first state whenever the actuating portion of the sensing element is at least partially arranged in the channel portion of the housing wall. In this way, the actuating portion of the sensing element is prevented from being displaced in the plane of the housing wall. Therefore, the components cannot be displaced either, and therefore the components are fixed in the housing. In order to reach the second state of the actuating portion of the sensing element in which the actuating portion of the sensing element is completely located in the internal space, the actuating portion can be displaced into the internal space in such a way that the latching lugs of at least one latch hook, which are mechanically connected to the actuating portion, engage on the latching edge of the retaining seat and form a latch connection. The resulting latch connection can prevent the actuating portion of the sensing element from being displaced in the direction of the first state, that is, prevent the actuating portion of the sensing element from returning to the channel portion of the housing wall. In this case, it is advantageous to arrange the height of the latching edge so that the sensing element or the actuating portion is maintained at a distance from the housing wall via the latching lugs in the latched state. In this way, during removal, the components can be safely removed from the housing, and both parts can be kept undamaged.

[0007] According to an advantageous refinement, the device further comprises a spring element which is designed such that the sensing element is prestressed in the direction from the interior of the housing to the exterior. In particular, the prestressing can take place in the direction of the first state of the actuating element in which the actuating element is located in the channel portion of the housing wall. In this way, unintentional removal of the device is prevented.

[0008] According to a further refinement of the device, the spring element can be fixed in a retaining seat in order to act on the sensor element from the retaining seat.

[0009] According to further refinement, the retaining portion of the sensing element also has an inclined edge. This can be arranged on, for example, at least one latch hook, and in particular in the region where the latch lug is located. In addition, the housing can have an abutment in the internal space, in particular on a side opposite to the channel portion. When the sensing element is displaced from the first state to the second state (i.e., displaced from the channel portion in the direction of the internal space), the inclined edge of the retaining portion hits the abutment and slides along the abutment, so that the sensing element undergoes a movement in the removal direction, perpendicular to the displacement direction (from the first state to the second state) of the actuating portion. During this movement in the removal direction, the component moves out of the internal space. In this way, the unlocking process is first performed by actuating the actuating portion, and the first sub-step of the housing being separated from the components contained in the housing is immediately started. As will be explained later, when the actuating portion is actuated, this displacement of the sensing element in a direction perpendicular to the actuating direction can also be advantageous during installation.

[0010] According to a detailed design of the abutment portion in the inner space of the housing, the abutment portion may be designed as an inclined surface, or may have an inclined surface along which the inclined edge of the retaining portion slides.

[0011] According to a further refinement, at least one latch hook has a second inclined edge perpendicular to the displacement direction of the sensing element (from the first state of the actuating portion to the second state). In this case, the second inclined edge is aligned or effective in the removal direction or in the direction opposite to the removal direction. In addition, the housing has at least one protrusion in the interior space. When the component moves into the interior space, that is, when the component moves into the interior space in an installation direction that travels in the direction opposite to the removal direction, the protrusion of the housing will contact the second inclined edge of the latch hook, and during this movement, the protrusion of the housing will push the latch lug of the latch hook to release the latch connection from the latch edge. Therefore, the second inclined edge is used to utilize the movement of the housing in the installation direction by contacting the protrusion of the housing so that the latch lug is displaced in a direction perpendicular to the installation direction.

[0012] According to a further refinement, the retaining seat of the component has at least one guiding element for guiding the movement of the sensing element. Correspondingly, the sensing element can have at least one protrusion as a corresponding guiding portion, which then contacts or is operatively connected to the at least one guiding element for safe and targeted guidance. In particular, the at least one guiding element can be implemented as a track on which the sensing element or the associated retaining portion protrusion is guided.

[0013] According to a further refinement, the component has functional elements. These functional elements can be mechanical or electrical or electronic functional elements. For example, these functional elements can include a battery holder or an emergency key holder. Therefore, these functional elements of the component are protected by the housing of the device in the installed state. If the user needs to access the functional elements, for example because they want to change the battery in the battery holder of the component, or if they want to remove the emergency key from the emergency key holder, the above-mentioned structure of the device allows the device to be opened and removed easily and safely.

[0014] According to a refinement, the device is designed as a portable device. In particular, the device can be designed as a remote control. It is also conceivable that the device is designed as a radio key for a vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0016] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a device for accommodating components according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in a side view;

[0017] Figure 2 Shows Figure 1 a bottom view of the housing of the illustrated view;

[0018] Figure 3 The diagram shows the direction of arrow A in the installed state. Figure 2 The cross-section of the housing of the device;

[0019] Figure 4 Shows Figure 3 sectional view of a housing in which a sensing element on the bottom side of the housing is actuated for removal purposes;

[0020] Figure 5 shows the Figure 4 sectional view of;

[0021] Figure 6 Shown in Figure 5 A cross section of a housing or a component accommodated in the housing viewed in the direction of arrow B in FIG.

[0022] Figure 7 Shows Figure 5 The removed state of the cross-section diagram;

[0023] Figure 8 Shows Figure 7 A cross-sectional view of the housing to explain the process of installing the components in the housing;

[0024] Fig. 9A schematic side view is shown for identifying the cross sections used for the following views;

[0025] FIG. 10 shows the first part of the process of mounting the components on the housing, Fig. 10B Shows Fig. 10A The enlarged portion of the logo;

[0026] FIG. 11 shows the second part of the process of mounting the components on the housing, Fig. 11B Again, it shows Fig.11A Enlarged portion of the logo. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] First reference Figure 1 , which shows a schematic diagram of a device 106 according to an embodiment of the invention, here the device is a portable device, in particular in the form of a radio key for a vehicle. The radio key 106 has a functional unit 11, which has a component 10 to be protected. Since this component is not visible from the outside, this attachment is shown in dotted lines in the figure. The functional unit 11 and / or the component 10 to be protected can have various functional elements; in particular, the component 10 can include a printed circuit board on which various electrical and electronic components or also mechanical components are arranged. For example, a battery holder 12 for accommodating a battery as an energy source and / or an emergency key holder 13 for accommodating a mechanical emergency key for a vehicle access system assigned to the radio key can be arranged on the component 10.

[0028] The functional unit 11 may also have a communication device for radio communication with an associated on-board communication device of the access system. By means of a button 14, the user can cause a radio signal to be sent from the functional unit 11 to the vehicle by appropriate actuation, wherein by pressing a specific button, a specific command is sent to the vehicle, for example for locking the doors, unlocking the doors, switching on the emergency mode, closing or opening the windows, or opening or closing the tailgate, etc.

[0029] In order to protect the component 10 and its functional elements, the radio key 106 further comprises a housing 15 which has an interior space in which the component 10 can be placed.

[0030] Since the block shown by 11 is not necessary for the following description, it is omitted below for a clearer description. Figure 2 Shows Figure 1 A bottom view of the housing shown in FIG. 4 is shown in FIG. 4A . The channel portion 41 can be seen on the bottom side 40 of the housing 15 ( Figure 3 More precisely, the actuating portion 21 of the sensing element 20 is arranged in the channel portion. In order to improve the description of the functional components for implementing the embodiment of the present invention, the embodiment of the present invention will now be viewed from the direction of arrow A. Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of the housing is shown.

[0031] Figure 3 Such a cross-sectional view is shown in FIG. 4 , which shows a first state of the sensing element 20 or the actuating portion 21 of the sensing element, in which the actuating portion of the sensing element is positioned in the channel portion 41. Figure 3 As can be seen in the figure, the housing 15 comprises a housing wall 31 (at the bottom in the figure) and a further housing wall 312 (at the top in the figure). The two housing walls delimit an interior space 16 of the housing 15. The interior space extends from right to left in the figure and is used to accommodate the component 10. As will be explained in more detail in the following figures, the interior space of the housing (on the left side in the figure) comprises an abutment 28, which comprises an inclined surface 23. In this case, the abutment 28 is arranged opposite to the passage hole 41.

[0032] Referring now to the component 10, this component has a holder 26 on one side (on the left in the figure) which serves on the one hand to hold the sensing element and on the other hand to guide the movement of the sensing element. Figure 3 In the figure a guide element 11 can be seen which guides a protrusion 29 or a pin of a holding part 25 of the sensing element in a linear movement (from bottom to top or from top to bottom in the figure).

[0033] Figure 2 The sensing element 20 mentioned above includes an actuating portion 21, such as Figure 2 As already described in the previous section, the actuating portion is specifically positioned in the channel portion 41 of the housing wall 31 in this (first) state. In addition, the sensing element 20 comprises the just mentioned retaining portion 25, which here in this embodiment is used to cooperate with the retaining seat 26 to retain the sensing element 20 and guide the movement of the sensing element. In addition to the already mentioned protrusion 29 for guiding the movement, the retaining portion 25 also has a latching hook 24, on the end of which facing away from the actuating portion, a latching lug 27 is provided. These first-mentioned elements can be Figure 6 The actuating portion 21 and the retaining portion 25 are mechanically operably connected, or as in the embodiment shown here, the actuating portion and the retaining portion are mechanically connected to each other. In particular, the retaining portion and the actuating portion can be formed as one body.

[0034] Finally, the component 10 has a spring element 42 which is designed to prestress the sensing element 20 in the direction 30 from the interior of the housing to the exterior, in particular in order to retain the actuating portion 21 in the channel portion 41. The spring element 42 is fixed in the retaining seat in such a way that it can exert a force on the sensing element 20 from the retaining seat in said direction.

[0035] Reference now Figure 4 , which again shows Figure 3 , in which the user now wishes to remove the component 10 from the housing 15. To this end, the user presses (bottom left in the figure) the actuating portion 21 and displaces it from the channel portion 41 in the direction 44 in the direction of the interior space 16. As will also be referred to below Figure 5 and Figure 6 As explained, this upward displacement of the actuating portion 21 and thus the entire sensing element 20 fixes the sensing element in place. Furthermore, when the sensing element 20 is displaced in the direction of the arrow 44, the inclined edge 22 of the latch hook 24 comes into contact with the inclined surface 23 of the housing 15 or the housing wall 312, so that the sliding of the two inclined surfaces on each other causes the vertical displacement along the arrow 44 in the figure to be further converted into a horizontal movement relative to the sensing element and therefore also relative to the component 10 in the direction of the arrow 43. Therefore, by actuating the actuating portion 21 along the arrow 44, on the one hand, the housing component structure is unlocked, so that now, due to the fact that the actuating portion 21 is no longer located in the channel portion 41 of the housing wall 31, there is no longer a form fit (and possibly no friction connection) between the actuating portion and the housing wall, so that the sensing element 20 can be moved in the direction of the arrow 43. On the other hand, as can also be seen in the right-hand part of the figure, this conversion of the vertical movement caused by the contact of the inclined edge 22 with the inclined surface 23 has initiated a first part of the removal movement, in which the component 10 is moved a certain distance out of the inner space 16 .

[0036] Reference now Figure 5 , which shows the Figure 4 Initially the user has removed their compression force and the spring element 42 attempts to press the actuation portion 21 downwards again in the figure. As described above, by displacing the actuation portion 21 or the entire sensing element upwards, the sensing element 20 is fixed to the retaining seat 26 so that the actuation portion is now a predetermined distance D from the housing wall 31. In this way, during removal, the component 10 does not come into contact with the housing and, therefore, the possibility of damage to the surface of the actuation portion is minimized (if not eliminated).

[0037] Reference now Figure 6 , which shows the direction of arrow B Figure 5 , in order to explain how the sensing element 20 is fixed to the holding seat 26. In addition to the elements already mentioned above, the holding portion 25 of the sensing element 20 in the figure here comprises two latching hooks 24 on the left and right sides, which are connected to the actuating portion 21 at the lower end and have corresponding latching lugs 27 on the opposite upper part.

[0038] from Figure 3Observe the state of removal again, when the actuating part 21 or the entire sensing element 20 moves in the direction along the arrow 44, the latching lug 27 of the elastically designed latching hook (from bottom to top in the figure) is pushed over the corresponding latching edge 45 of the retaining seat 26. During the movement, the latching hook 24 bends in the direction of the center of the figure, and then relaxes again when the corresponding latching lug 27 is located above the corresponding latching edge 45. In particular, after the user has removed the force, when the spring element 42 presses the sensing element downward in a direction opposite to the direction 44 in the figure, the corresponding latching lug 27 then contacts (overlaps) with the latching edge 45. Therefore, the latching connection generated between the corresponding latching lug 27 and the latching edge 45 prevents the sensing element from moving further downward, and as shown in FIG. Figure 5 As explained in , the latching connection holds the actuating portion in a second state away from the housing wall 31 by a certain section D.

[0039] In this way, the component 10 can thus be easily removed from the housing 15 by a single movement (to the right in the figure) in the direction of the arrow 43 , as shown. Figure 7 After the component has been completely removed from the interior space 16 of the housing 15, access to the functional element 12 or 13 is then possible, as already in Figure 1 Briefly indicated in.

[0040] Reference now Figure 8 , which shows the installation process, in which Figure 7 Reassemble the radio key that has been removed from the Figure 8 As shown, the component 10 is introduced into the interior 16 and moved along the installation direction 46 (towards the left in the figure).

[0041] To better illustrate the installation process, Fig. 9 In the illustration, a corresponding section viewed along arrow C has been taken through the housing 15 .

[0042] Correspondingly, now in Fig. 10A and Fig. 10B It is shown in Fig. 9 The corresponding cross-sectional display of Fig. 10B Shown in Fig. 10A Magnified section marked in .

[0043] As can be seen in both Figures 10, during installation, the component 10 is moved in the direction of arrow 46 (installation direction), in the direction of the left portion of the housing wall 312. From the perspective of the component 10 as a reference system, the protrusion 47 is correspondingly moved in the direction opposite to the installation direction 46 (indicated by Fig. 10B ), and moves in the interior space of the housing 15 or the housing wall 312. Fig. 10BIt can also be seen that in Figure 6 The latching lug 27 shown in detail in FIG has a second inclined edge 222 in the mounting direction or in the plane in which the mounting direction lies. After the protrusion 47 of the housing wall 312 has come into contact with the second inclined edge 222, the protrusion 47 slides with the component 10 along the second inclined edge 222 of the latching lug 27 in an opposite movement. Since the protrusion 47 is designed to be stable or stationary, while the latching lug 27 is held by the elastically designed latching hook 24, the protrusion 47 and the second inclined edge 222 move the latching lug in a direction 48 perpendicular to the mounting direction 46 (downwards in the figure) by sliding against each other. This movement disengages the latching lug 27 from the latching edge 45 of the retaining seat 26.

[0044] Reference is now made to both FIGS. 11 , which show how, after further movement of the component 10 in the mounting direction 46, the projection 47 completely releases the latching lug 27 from the latching edge 45. In this state, the sensing element 20 or the associated actuating portion 21 can then be moved in the direction of the housing wall 31 to thereby be arranged again in the channel portion 41, in particular by pretensioning the spring element 42, as has already been described according to Figure 3 The first state of the actuating portion 21 is shown in FIG.

[0045] However, after releasing the latch connection between the latching lug 27 and the latching edge 45 and before the sensing element can move into the channel portion 41, the inclined edge 22 of the retaining portion 25 of the sensing element again contacts the inclined surface 23 of the housing 15, particularly in the two stages shown in FIG. 11, and when the component 10 moves in the installation direction 46, the sensing element not only moves forward by sliding movement between the inclined edge 22 and the inclined surface 23, but also moves in a direction perpendicular to the installation direction, in the direction of the channel portion 41.

[0046] Although FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate the release mechanism of the respective latching lugs from the latching edge 45 with reference only to the latching connection illustrated at the top of the figures, the corresponding release of the latching connection illustrated at the bottom of the figures occurs in the same manner.

[0047] In this way, visible damage, in particular to the sensor element, more precisely to the actuating part, is prevented when removing the component 10 from the housing 15 and when installing the component in the housing, and treatments that have to be performed frequently, such as replacing the battery or removing the emergency key, leave no traces on the visible parts of the radio key 106.

Claims

1. A device for accommodating a component, the device comprising: - a housing, the housing comprising: + a housing wall, which defines an interior space of the housing, and + a channel portion in the housing wall, - The component to be accommodated in the internal space comprises: + a sensing element having an actuating portion and a retaining portion, the retaining portion being mechanically connected to the actuating portion and having at least one latching hook with a latching lug, and + a holder, the sensing element being movable relative to the holder and having a latching edge, - wherein, when the component is accommodated in the internal space, + In the first state, the actuating portion of the sensing element is arranged in the channel portion of the housing wall, and + In order to reach the second state in which the actuating portion of the sensing element is positioned in the interior space, the actuating portion of the sensing element can be displaced into the interior space in such a way that the latching lug of the at least one latching hook engages on the latching edge of the retaining seat to form a latching connection. 2 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a spring element which is designed to pretension the sensing element in a direction from the interior space of the housing to the outside.

3. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein: The spring element is fixed in the holding seat to act on the sensing element from the holding seat.

4. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: - the holding portion of the sensing element also has an inclined edge, and - the housing has an abutment portion in the inner space on a side opposite to the channel portion, - and therefore, when the sensing element is displaced from the first state to the second state, the inclined edge slides along the abutment after coming into contact with the abutment in such a way that the sensing element undergoes a movement in the removal direction perpendicular to the displacement direction.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein: The abutment portion is designed as an inclined surface, and the inclined edge of the retaining portion can slide along the inclined surface.

6. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: - the at least one latching hook has a second inclined edge perpendicular to the displacement direction of the sensing element, and - the housing has at least one protrusion in the inner space, - wherein, when the component is moved in the inner space in a direction opposite to the removal direction, the protrusion comes into contact with the second inclined edge of the latch hook, and during this movement, the latch lug moves away from the latch edge to release the latch connection.

7. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The holder has at least one guide element for guiding the movement of the sensing element.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein: The holding portion of the sensing element has at least one corresponding guide portion for the at least one guide element, the at least one corresponding guide portion being operatively connected to the at least one guide element.

9. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The component has functional elements.

10. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The device is designed as a portable device and is designed as a radio key for a vehicle.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein: The functional element includes a battery holder or an emergency key holder.

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