Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Auxiliary article compartments
Reexamination Certificate
2003-02-24
2004-08-31
Patel, Kiran (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Auxiliary article compartments
C296S037800, C296S037100, C296S037900
Reexamination Certificate
active
06783166
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART STATEMENT
The invention relates to a guide mechanism, an opening-closing mechanism of a covering member using the guide mechanism, and an interior equipment to be installed in a car using the opening-closing mechanism for securely and smoothly guiding an object to move along a predetermined path supported by a predetermined supporting base frame. The object includes a covering member for opening or closing an opening portion of various things or materials, interior equipment to be installed in a car, and various articles to be used by drawing out of a housing portion.
Conventionally, an interior equipment such as a cup-holder, an ashtray, and various types of glove compartment is installed in an instrument panel of an automobile. Also recently, a liquid crystal display panel of a car navigation system may be installed. In this case, a covering member is usually attached to the ashtray or the various types of the glove compartment. The covering member for protection may also be attached to the liquid crystal display panel of the car navigation system, as it is preferred that the panel is protected with the covering member when the system is not used.
In this case, when the covering member is opened and the glove compartment and the car navigation system are used, the opened covering member sometimes becomes an obstacle. Especially in the case of the liquid crystal display panel of the car navigation system, the covering member may block the display panel. Additionally, the liquid crystal display panel of the car navigation system is used in a state that the covering member is opened for a long time, so that it is preferred that the opened covering member is stored into the instrument panel. Further, the cup holder is generally housed in the instrument panel, and the cup holder is drawn out of the instrument panel when used. As for the various ashtrays and grove compartments, they are drawn out of the instrument panel in the same manner when used.
In the opening-closing operation mechanism of the above-stated covering members and the drawing operation mechanism of the glove compartment, ashtray, cup holder or the like, the covering member or the like is guided along a predetermined path by inserting guide projections provided in an object to slide in guide grooves provided in a supporting base frame.
For example, in Japanese Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 11-20552, as shown in FIGS.
7
(A) and
7
(B), a guide mechanism for guiding the opening-closing operation of a covering member c of a central console box has been disclosed. In the guide mechanism, the covering member c is guided to turn and slide in a vertical direction at the opening-direction rotation limit by inserting guide projections e
1
, e
2
into guide grooves b
1
, b
2
to slide therethrough, so that the covering member c is opened or closed and the opened covering member c is housed in the central console box.
More specifically, in the guide mechanism shown in FIGS.
7
(A) and
7
(B), two guide grooves b
1
, b
2
are formed parallel to a vertical direction on both side surfaces of a box-type main frame a, and a circular arc connecting groove b
3
for connecting both guide grooves b
1
, b
2
is formed at upper portions of both guide grooves b
1
, b
2
. Tongue shaped holding members d are provided at both side edges of one end of the covering member c, respectively, and two guide projections e
1
, e
2
are provided in the respective holding members d. The guide projections e
1
, e
2
are inserted into the guide grooves b
1
, b
2
to slide, thereby attaching the covering member c to the box-type main frame a.
In the guide mechanism, as shown in FIG.
7
(A), the covering member c is in a closed state where both guide projections e
1
, e
2
are positioned in one guide groove b
1
. When the covering member c is opened, as shown by a dot line c
1
in FIG.
7
(A), the covering member c is rotated around the guide projection e
1
so that the front end of the covering member c is lifted. At this time, when the other guide projection e
2
enters the connecting groove b
3
and then the covering member c is rotated to be located in the substantially vertical direction, as shown by a dot line c
2
in FIG.
7
(A), the opening of the box-type main frame a is completely opened. At this time, the other guide projection e
2
is moved to the upper end of the other guide groove b
2
, so that both guide projections e
1
, e
2
are positioned in the guide grooves b
1
, b
2
, respectively. Then, when the covering member c is pressed downward, both guide projections e
1
, e
2
slide downward through both guide grooves b
1
, b
2
, respectively, and the covering member c slides downward along one side surface of the box-type main frame to be housed, as shown by a dot line c
3
.
Also, in case that the covering member c is closed from the state as shown by the dot line c
3
, both guide projections e
1
, e
2
slide upward through both guide grooves b
1
, b
2
by lifting the covering member c, so that the covering member c is drawn upward as shown by the dot line c
2
. When both guide projections e
1
, e
2
reach the upper ends of the both guide grooves b
1
, b
2
, respectively, the covering member c is rotated around one guide projection e
1
in the closing direction. At this time, the other guide projection e
2
enters the connecting groove b
3
from the guide groove b
2
, and is moved to the guide groove b
1
through the connecting groove b
3
, so that the covering member c is completely closed as shown by a solid line as shown in FIG.
7
(A). At this time, both guide projections e
1
, e
2
are positioned in one guide groove b
1
.
However, this conventional opening-closing mechanism tends to wobble, or create large sliding resistance, thereby making it difficult to open the covering member c smoothly.
In other words, as described above, when the covering member c is guided along a predetermined path by sliding the guide projections e
1
, e
2
in the guide grooves b
1
, b
2
, generally a guide mechanism includes guide grooves b
1
, b
2
corresponding to a desired operation path formed on the box-type main frame a as a supporting base frame and the guide projections e
1
, e
2
inserted therein as shown in FIG.
7
(B). In this case, in order to smoothly slide the guide projections e
1
, e
2
, front ends of the guide projections e
1
, e
2
are arranged not to contact bottom surfaces of the guide grooves b
1
, b
2
. Further, diameters of the guide projections e
1
, e
2
are set to be slightly smaller than widths of the guide grooves b
1
, b
2
.
At this time, due to a dimensional accuracy, a space between the holding members d (only one holding member is shown in the drawing) disposed to hold the box-type main frame a does not always precisely match to a width of the box-type main frame a. A state that the holding member d is closely attached to the box-type main frame a is shown in FIG.
7
(B). However, a space is often made between an inner surface of the holding member d and an outer surface of the box-type main frame a. In addition, since there is a clearance between the guide projections e
1
, e
2
and the guide grooves b
1
, b
2
, the covering member c tends to wobble, thereby making the operation unstable.
In this case, to prevent the wobbling of the covering member c, a space between the holding members d is set slightly narrow so that the holding members d are slightly elastically deformed. Accordingly, as shown in FIG.
7
(B), the holding members d are pressed against both side surfaces of the box-type main frame a provided with the guide grooves b
1
, b
2
, with a predetermined pressure p to thereby prevent the wobbling of the covering member c. However, in this case, the frictional resistance between both side surfaces of the box-type main frame a and the holding members becomes large, thereby making it difficult to move the covering member c smoothly.
In the conventional mechanism described above, the object (in this case the covering member c) moves in a complex manner such as rotating and s
Nifco Inc.
Patel Kiran
LandOfFree
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