Lock device and storage apparatus

Abstract

To provide a lock device which has a compact configuration and can improve the freedom of layout, and a storage apparatus which comprises the same.SOLUTION: A lock device 1 comprises: a pair of action parts 11, 11 capable of locking a second member 5 relative to a first member 4 by respectively being inserted / removed in a prescribed first direction relative to a receiving part 12 and can release the lock; a body to be operated for moving the one action part 11 in the first direction; one connection means 15 for linearly connecting the pair of action parts 11, 11 in the first direction and transferring the movement of the one action part 11 to the other action part 11; and the other connection means 16 for connecting the pair of action parts 11, 11 and linking the other action part 11 in a direction opposite to a movement direction of the one action part 11 by being operated in a second direction crossing the first direction in accordance with the movement of the one action part 11 to adjust a distance between the pair of action parts 11, 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a locking device capable of locking a second member with respect to a first member and unlocking the lock, and a storage device including the same.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in an opening / closing device such as a glove box mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile, a locking device is used to lockably open and close a lid body as a second member with respect to a main body portion as a first member. In such a locking device, the tip portions of a pair of long rods as locking bodies are inserted in a state of being urged against a lock receiving portion to lock the lid body, and a user such as a passenger slides or rotates an operation handle, and accordingly, the rod retracts longitudinally from the lock receiving portion against the urging force in response to the operation of the operation handle, thereby releasing the lock.

[0003] For example, a link mechanism in which four links are hinge-connected at their ends and arranged in a square shape is used, and a rod is connected to the connecting portions of the links located diagonally on the left and right, so that the rods are symmetrically arranged with respect to an imaginary line connecting the upper and lower diagonals of the link mechanism, and the bias of the force accompanying the conversion of the direction of the force by the connecting portion is suppressed, and the operating force is stably transmitted to the rod (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in the case of the above-described locking device, if the position for transmitting the operating force from the operating portion for operating the link mechanism with respect to the symmetrically shaped coupling mechanism is biased to either the left or the right, it is difficult to transmit the operating force evenly to the left and right, and the responsiveness of the operation of the locking device to the operation of the operating portion decreases. Therefore, it is necessary to set the operating portion at the center of one diagonal of the link mechanism, and the layout of the operating portion is restricted.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of such points, and an object thereof is to provide a locking device having a compact configuration and capable of improving the degree of freedom in layout, and a storage device including the same.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The locking device according to claim 1 is capable of locking a second member to a first member and releasing the lock by inserting and removing a pair of acting portions into and from a receiving portion in a predetermined first direction, respectively, an operating portion for moving one of the acting portions in the first direction, one connecting means for linearly connecting the pair of acting portions in the first direction and transmitting the movement of one of the acting portions to the other acting portion, and connecting the pair of acting portions, and operating in a second direction intersecting the first direction in response to the movement of one of the acting portions to interlock the other acting portion in a direction opposite to the movement direction of the one acting portion and adjust the distance between the pair of acting portions, and the other connecting means.

[0008] The locking device according to claim 2 is the locking device according to claim 1, wherein one connecting means has an elastic body linearly interposed between the pair of acting portions in the first direction.

[0009] The locking device according to claim 3 is the locking device according to claim 1, wherein the operating portion is disposed offset toward one of the acting portions with respect to the center between the pair of acting portions.

[0010] The locking device according to claim 4 is the locking device according to claim 1, and includes a guide portion for guiding the movement of the operating portion.

[0011] The storage device according to claim 5 includes a main body portion which is a first member having a receiving portion and an opening, a lid member which is a second member capable of opening and closing the opening, and a locking device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 provided on the lid member for locking the lid member to the main body portion in a state where the opening is closed.

Advantages of the Invention

[0012] According to the locking device described in claim 1, with a simple and compact configuration, it is possible to efficiently transmit the operating force for moving one operating portion by the operating portion to the other operating portion with less transmission loss, and to obtain a good function of the locking device regardless of the layout of the operating portion, so that the degree of freedom in layout can be improved.

[0013] According to the locking device described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of the locking device described in claim 1, due to the biasing of the elastic body, force is evenly applied in the first direction to the paired operating portions, and the transmission loss of the operating force is reduced.

[0014] According to the locking device described in claim 3, in addition to the effect of the locking device described in claim 1, even in a configuration where the operating portion is disposed offset to one operating portion side with respect to the central portion between the paired operating portions, the operating force from the operating portion for moving one operating portion can be reliably transmitted to the other operating portion by the one and the other connecting means, and since the function is not affected by the arrangement of the operating portion, it is possible to cope with various layouts.

[0015] According to the locking device described in claim 4, in addition to the effect of the locking device described in claim 1, the operating portion can be moved without rattling.

[0016] According to the storage device described in claim 5, it is possible to configure a storage device having a small layout space for the locking device and a high degree of freedom in layout.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0018] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0019] In FIGS. 2 and 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a locking device. The locking device 1 is capable of locking a second member with respect to a first member and releasing this lock. For example, the first member and the second member are used for any opening / closing device or storage device. In the illustrated example, the locking device 1 is used for a storage device 2. The storage device 2 is, for example, a glove box for a vehicle. The storage device 2 includes a main body portion 4 which is a first member having an opening 3, and a lid member 5 which is a second member for opening and closing the opening 3 of the main body portion 4. The lid member 5 has, for example, a plurality of members such as an inner member 5a and an outer member 5b, and the locking device 1 is mainly disposed in a space between the inner member 5a and the outer member 5b in the lid member 5. Then, the locking device 1 locks the lid member 5 to the main body portion 4 in a state where the opening 3 is closed, and enables the lid member 5 to open the opening 3 by releasing the lock.

[0020] Hereinafter, the front-rear direction, left-right direction, and up-down direction are defined based on the direction seen from the user side of the storage device 2. The direction of the arrow FR in the drawing on the user side is defined as the front side or the front side, the direction of the arrow RR which is the opposite direction is defined as the rear side or the back side, the directions of the arrows L and R in the drawing are defined as the left-right direction, and the directions of the arrows U and D in the drawing are defined as the up-down direction.

[0021] As shown in FIGS. 1(a), 1(b), and 2, the locking device 1 includes a pair of acting parts 11. The acting parts 11, also called a locking part or a latch part, etc., are parts that are inserted into and removed from the receiving part 12 respectively, and are responsible for locking and unlocking by the locking device 1. The receiving part 12 is recessed in the inner edge of the opening 3 in the main body part 4. In the present embodiment, the acting parts 11 are set as a pair and are configured to be inserted into and removed from the receiving part 12 in the left-right direction which is the first direction. However, the direction in which the pair of acting parts 11 are set and the direction (the first direction) in which they are inserted into and removed from the receiving part 12 are not limited to the left-right direction, and may be, for example, the up-down direction or the like.

[0022] Between the acting parts 11, 11 are connected to each other by one and the other connecting means 15, 16.

[0023] One of the connecting means 15 has a pair of locking bodies 18 which are long connecting bodies, and an elastic body 19 that connects these pairs of locking bodies 18. One of the connecting means 15 is one of the operating force transmission means that transmits the movement of one acting part 11 to the other acting part 11.

[0024] The locking body 18 is also called a rod or the like. The locking body 18 is formed linearly and is arranged to extend along the left-right direction which is the first direction. The locking bodies 18 are arranged in a straight line in the left-right direction. The left locking body 18 and the right locking body 18 have the same shape or substantially the same shape as each other, and are arranged to be line-symmetrical with each other in the left-right direction.

[0025] One end of the locking body 18 is provided with the acting part 11. In the present embodiment, the locking body 18 and the acting part 11 are integrally formed. In the illustrated example, the right acting part 11 is located at the right end of the right locking body 18, and the left acting part 11 is located at the left end of the left locking body 18.

[0026] A support portion 20 for supporting an elastic body 19 is provided at the other end of the lock body 18. In the present embodiment, the lock body 18 and the support portion 20 are integrally formed. In the illustrated example, the support portions 20 are located at the left end portion of the right lock body 18 and the right end portion of the left lock body 18, respectively. The support portion 20 is formed in a pin shape or a column shape thinner than the lock body 18. The support portion 20 extends along the longitudinal direction of the lock body 18. The tip portions of the support portions 20, 20 of the lock bodies 18, 18 face each other in the left-right direction at positions separated from each other.

[0027] The elastic body 19 is attached across the support portions 20, 20. The elastic body 19 is a biasing body that biases the lock bodies 18, 18 away from each other in the left-right direction, which is the first direction. That is, the elastic body 19 is a biasing stage for maintaining the lock device 1 in the locked state. In the present embodiment, the elastic body 19 is a compression coil spring (a spring body), and the support portions 20, 20 are inserted into both end portions thereof, and it is linearly positioned on the same straight line as the operating portion 11 and the lock body 18. Note that the vertical position of the elastic body 19 is regulated by a regulating portion 21. The regulating portion 21 is formed in a rib shape along the left-right direction, for example, at the front portion of the inner member 5a of the lid member 5.

[0028] In addition, at the other end of the lock body 18, at the position of the base end portion of the support portion 20, a connected portion 22 that is connected to the other connecting means 16 is provided. The connected portion 22 is formed in a pin shape or a column shape that protrudes forward with respect to the lock body 18. A link 23 that constitutes the other connecting means 16 is rotatably supported by each connected portion 22.

[0029] One link 25 and the other link 26 are provided on the link 23. The one and the other links 25, 26 are each formed linearly. One end portion of the one link 25 is rotatably supported by the connected portion 22 of the one lock body 18, and one end portion of the other link 26 is rotatably supported by the connected portion 22 of the other lock body 18. Then, the other end portions of the upper and lower links 25, 26 are overlapped with each other and are rotatably connected by a cylindrical coupling pin 27.

[0030] In the present embodiment, one and the other links 25 and 26 are set to form a pair in the vertical direction, which is a direction intersecting the moving direction of the operating portion 11 or the locking body 18, that is, the second direction. That is, a plurality of each of one link 25 and the other link 26 are set. In the illustrated example, one and the other links 25 and 26 are set in a pair in the vertical direction with respect to the locking body 18. The connected portions 22 are set in a pair in the vertical direction for each locking body 18, and one end portions of one and the other links 25 and 26 are rotatably supported by the upper connected portion 22 and the lower connected portion 22, respectively. Therefore, the other connecting means 16 is configured as a link mechanism in a quadrangular frame shape or a pantograph shape having corners in the vertical and horizontal directions when viewed from the front by the one link 25 forming a pair and the other link 26 forming a pair.

[0031] The elastic body 19 is located between the corners facing each other in the left and right directions of the other connecting means 16. The other connecting means 16 is configured such that as the left and right corners move in the left and right directions, the upper and lower corners move in the vertical direction, which is the second direction. Further, the operations of one link 25 and the other link 26 of the other connecting means 16 are symmetric or substantially symmetric in the left and right directions. Then, the other connecting means 16 is the other operating force transmission means that interlocks the other operating portion 11 in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the one operating portion 11 by the links 25 and 26 operating in the second direction intersecting the left and right direction, which is the first direction, in response to the movement of the one operating portion 11, and adjusts the distance between the paired operating portions 11 and 11.

[0032] One operating portion 11 is moved by the operation of an operated body 30 which is an operating portion operated by a user such as a vehicle occupant when unlocking. The operated body 30 is also called an operation handle or a knob, etc. The operated body 30 is movably provided and exposed from either one of a first member and a second member (in this embodiment, the lid member 5) to which the locking device 1 is attached, and operates according to the operation of the user to move the operating portion 11, in this embodiment, the locking body 18, to release (unlock) the lock by the locking device 1. If the operated body 30 operates so that its position or posture changes, it may have a slidable configuration, etc., but in this embodiment, it is rotatably attached in the left-right direction via a shaft 32 to an opening 31 formed in the outer member 5b of the lid member 5. The operated body 30 is exposed from the opening 31 to the front of the storage device 2, for example, into the vehicle interior. And the operated body 30 is configured to move one operating portion 11 by rotating when operated and pressing a load receiving portion 33 which is a pressed portion. The load receiving portion 33 may have an arbitrary shape, but in this embodiment, it is formed as a protrusion protruding above and below the locking body 18.

[0033] In this embodiment, the operated body 30 is disposed offset to the side of one operating portion 11, i.e., the right-side operating portion 11 in the figure, with respect to the central portion between the pair of operating portions 11, 11, that is, the central portion in the left-right direction between the locking bodies 18, 18. In the illustrated example, the operated body 30 is located near one end of one operating portion 11. Therefore, the operated body 30 is configured to transmit a direct operating force to one operating portion 11 or the locking body 18 by the rotation operation by the user, and to transmit an operating force indirectly to the other operating portion 11 or the locking body 18 via the one and the other connecting means 15, 16.

[0034] Also, the movement of the operating portions 11 is guided and assisted by guide portions 35 respectively. In this embodiment, the guide portion 35 is a movement guiding structure as a regulating member that indirectly guides the movement of the operating portions 11 by guiding the movement of the one and the other connecting means 15, 16.

[0035] The guide portion 35 that guides the movement of one connecting means 15 has a guide pin 40 and a fixing piece 41 as one regulating member. The guide pin 40 is inserted into a long hole-shaped guide hole 43 formed along the longitudinal direction in the lock body 18. The fixing piece 41 extends along the left-right direction and regulates the vertical position of the lock body 18. The guide pin 40 and the fixing piece 41 respectively project from the front portion of the inner member 5a of the lid member 5.

[0036] The guide portion 35 that guides the movement of the other connecting means 16 has a groove portion 45 as the other regulating member. The groove portion 45 is formed along the vertical direction and regulates the left-right position of the coupling pin 27 inserted therein. The groove portion 45 is formed in the front portion of the inner member 5a of the lid member 5. In the present embodiment, the groove portion 45 is vertically positioned with respect to the lock body 18.

[0037] Then, the locking device 1 supports an elastic body between the support portions 20, 20 of each lock body 18, rotatably connects one end portions of the links 25, 26 to the connected portion 22, and connects the other end portions of the links 25, 26 to each other by a coupling pin 27 for assembly.

[0038] After that, with respect to the inner member 5a, the one and the other lock bodies 18, 18 are aligned so that the guide pin 40 is inserted into the guide hole 43 and inserted between the fixing pieces 41 respectively, and the coupling pin 27 is fitted into the groove portion 45. Then, the inner member 5a is covered from the front side by the outer member 5b to which the operated body 30 is attached, and the lid member 5 incorporating the locking device 1 is assembled. In this way, since the locking device 1 can be assembled to the lid member 5 after being assembled separately in a separate process, the workability of assembly is good.

[0039] The storage device 2 assembled in this way is held at the position where the lid member 5 closes the opening 3 and the biasing body 19 biases the left and right locking bodies 18, 18 to protrude as shown in Fig. 1(a). Therefore, the operating portions 11, 11 at one ends of the left and right locking bodies 18, 18 are held in a state of being inserted into the receiving portions 12, 12, and the locking device 1 locks the lid member 5 to the main body portion 4.

[0040] When unlocking the lock by the locking device 1, when the user rotates the operated body 30, the operated body 30 abuts against the load receiving portion 33 of the right locking body 18, i.e., the one on the right side, and presses the right locking body 18 against the bias of the biasing body 19 via the load receiving portion 33, moving the right locking body 18 to the left. As a result, one link 25, whose one end is rotatably connected to the connected portion 22 of the right locking body 18, rotates about the connected portion 22, causing the space between the upper and lower one links 25 to open, i.e., the upper one link 25 rotates in the clockwise direction and the lower one link 25 rotates in the counterclockwise direction. Then, the other end of one link 25 moves along the groove portion 45 together with the coupling pin 27 and the other end of the other link 26. Regarding the other link 26, its other end moves vertically along the groove portion 45 together with one link 25, rotates symmetrically with the connected one link 25, and pulls the other, i.e., the left locking body 18, to the right. At this time, the elastic body 19 supported by the other end of the right locking body 18 is pressed to the left as the right locking body 18 moves to the left, so that one end of the other link 26 rotates in conjunction with the connected portion 22 of the left locking body 18 without rattling. That is, the transmission loss of the operating force for moving one operating portion 11 to the other operating portion 11 is reduced. In this way, when the right locking body 18 moves to the left, the left locking body 18 moves to the right, which is the opposite direction to the right locking body 18. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 1(b), the operating portions 11 at one ends of the respective locking bodies 18 are pulled out from the receiving portions 12, and the lock by the locking device 1 is released.

[0041] As described above, according to one embodiment, one connecting means 15 linearly connects between the paired acting portions 11, 11 in the first direction to transmit the movement of one acting portion 11 to the other acting portion 11, and the paired acting portions 11, 11 are connected. The other connecting means 16 operates in a second direction intersecting the first direction in response to the movement of one acting portion 11, thereby interlocking the other acting portion 11 in the direction opposite to the movement direction of one acting portion 11 to adjust the distance between the paired acting portions 11, 11. By providing the other connecting means 16, it is possible to efficiently transmit the operating force for moving one acting portion 11 by the operated body 30 to the other acting portion 11 with low transmission loss in a simple and compact configuration, and to surely interlock one acting portion 11 and the other acting portion 11 to ensure good responsiveness to the operation. Therefore, as long as it is a position where one acting portion 11 can be moved, regardless of the layout of the operated body 30 that generates the operating force for moving one acting portion 11, the function of the good locking device 1 can be obtained, so the degree of freedom of the layout can be improved. That is, it is possible to provide a locking device 1 that can achieve both functionality (suppression of operating force transmission loss) and improvement in productivity (compactification).

[0042] For example, even in a configuration where the operated body 30 is disposed biased toward one acting portion 11 with respect to the central portion between the paired acting portions 11, 11, the operating force from the operated body 30 can be surely transmitted to the other acting portion 11 by the one and the other connecting means 15, 16, and the layout of the operated body 30 does not affect the function as the locking device 1. Therefore, it can cope with various layouts.

[0043] Furthermore, since one connecting means 15 has an elastic body 19 linearly interposed between the paired acting portions 11, 11 in the first direction, a force is evenly applied to the paired acting portions 11, 11 (paired locking bodies 18, 18) in the first direction by the biasing of the elastic body 19, and the transmission loss of the operating force is further reduced.

[0044] By providing a guide portion 35 for guiding the movement of the acting portion 11, the acting portion 11 can be moved without rattling.

[0045] On the other hand, the other connecting means 16 has a simple pantograph structure in which the links 25 and 26 are connected in a rectangular frame shape, so it is not easily broken.

[0046] By providing the above-described locking device 1, a storage device 2 can be configured in which the arrangement space of the locking device 1 is small and the degree of freedom in layout, that is, design, such as the arrangement of the object to be operated 30 is high.

[0047] Note that in one embodiment, the operating portion 11 is not limited to being manually operated by the object to be operated 30, and may be electrically operated by an operating portion such as a motor or an actuator.

Industrial Applicability

[0048] The present invention is suitably used for, for example, a locking device that locks a lid member of a storage device for a vehicle.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0049] 1 Locking device 2 Storage device 3 Opening 4 Main body portion as the first member 5 Lid member as the second member 11 Operating portion 12 Receiving portion 15 One connecting means 16 Other connecting means 19 Elastic body 30 Object to be operated as the operating portion 35 Guide portion

Claims

1. An actuating portion pair capable of locking and unlocking a second member with respect to a first member by being inserted into and removed from a receiving portion in a predetermined first direction respectively; An operating portion for moving one of the actuating portions in the first direction; One connecting means for linearly connecting the actuating portion pair in the first direction to transmit the movement of one of the actuating portions to the other; The other connecting means for connecting the actuating portion pair and operating in a second direction intersecting the first direction in response to the movement of one of the actuating portions to interlock the other actuating portion in a direction opposite to the movement direction of the one actuating portion to adjust the distance between the actuating portion pair; A locking device, characterized by comprising the above.

2. One of the connecting means has an elastic body linearly interposed between the actuating portion pair in the first direction. The locking device according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. The operating portion is disposed offset to one of the actuating portion sides with respect to the central portion between the actuating portion pair. The locking device according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

4. Comprising a guide portion for guiding the movement of the actuating portion. The locking device according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

5. A main body portion which is a first member having a receiving portion and an opening; A lid member which is a second member capable of opening and closing the opening; The locking device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 provided on the lid member for locking the lid member to the main body portion in a state where the opening is closed; A storage device, characterized by comprising the above.

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