Abstract:
A side rock device attaches a first member to a second member to be openable. The side rock device includes a pair of lock arms, a housing which holds the lock arms movably, a slider defining inclining holes which engage with the lock arms and urge the lock arms to protrude and retract, the slider disposed in the housing, and an elastic member which elastically urges the slider toward a predetermined direction. When the slider is operated against an elastic urging force of the elastic member, the lock arms are retracted.

Description:
The present disclosure relates to the subject matter contained in Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-161139 filed on Jun. 3, 2003, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a side lock device for locking a glove box itself, which is attached onto the instrument panel side of a vehicle so that the glove box can be opened and closed, or for locking an independent lid of the glove box. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     EP0850342B1 and WO095/27115 disclose a side lock device of this kind. 
     Essentially, the conventional side lock device adopts a rotary system in which a glove box itself or an independent lid of the glove box is locked onto the instrument panel side while the glove box can be opened and closed. 
     Therefore, in the conventional side lock device, it is necessary to provide a pair of right and left lock arms extending from the rotary center to both sides. Accordingly, compared with the single lock, the size and volume of the rotary body connecting the lock arms doubles. Therefore, the size and volume of the device itself is increased. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is accomplished to effectively solve the above problems of the conventional side lock device. 
     According to a first aspect of the invention, a side rock device attaches a first member to a second member to be openable. The side rock device includes a pair of lock arms, a housing, a slider and an elastic member. The housing holds the lock arms movably. The slider defines inclining holes, which engage with the lock arms and urge the lock arms to protrude and retract the lock arms. The slider is disposed in the housing. Then elastic member elastically urges the slider toward a predetermined direction. When the slider is operated against an elastic urging force of the elastic member, the lock arms are retracted. 
     According to a second aspect of the invention, in the first aspect, the holes engage with protrusions of the lock arms and form a reverse-V shape. Opening are formed on side surfaces of the slider to continue to outer ends of the holes, respectively. The openings open during a process of assembling the slider into the housing. The openings close when the slider has been assembled into the housing. 
     According to a third aspect of the invention, in the second aspect, parallel portions are formed at the outer ends of the holes, respectively, to be parallel to a moving direction of the slider. Each of side surfaces of the parallel portions face to each of openings. 
     According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the third aspect, each of lower walls of the parallel portions is perpendicular to the moving direction of the slider or incline in a direction opposite to inclination direction of the reverse-V shape. 
     According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the first aspect, the side lock device further includes an operation lever, which operates the slider. The operation lever includes a fulcrum portion, an operation portion, and a pushing pawl. The fulcrum portion is axially supported by the housing so that the operation lever is swingable. The operation portion swings the operation lever. The pushing pawl moves the slider against the elastic urging force. The slider has an evagination portion evaginating upward and abut against the pushing pawl. 
     According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the second aspect, turning portions to which the protrusions of the lock arms are fitted are formed at inner ends of the holes, respectively. 
     According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in the sixth aspect, each of turning portions includes a perpendicular portion, which is perpendicular to a moving direction of the slider. 
     In the first aspect, the size and volume of the side lock device can be reduced in comparison with those of the conventional rotary system in which the rotary body is rotated. 
     In the second aspect the opening are formed on side surfaces of the slider to continue to outer ends of the holes, respectively. The openings open during a process of assembling the slider into the housing. The openings close when the slider has been assembled into the housing. Therefore, the slider can be easily assembled to the housing together with the lock arm. Once the slider has been assembled to the housing together with the lock arm, there is no possibility that the lock arm is disengaged therefrom. 
     In the third aspect, parallel portions are formed at the outer ends of the holes, respectively. Therefore, even when the protrusion of the lock arm is strongly pushed into the opening of each hole, the protrusion of the lock arm collides with the parallel portion and stops on the slider side. As a result, the slider can be easily assembled to the housing in the above condition. 
     In the fourth aspect, each of lower walls of the parallel portions is perpendicular to the moving direction of the slider or incline in a direction opposite to inclination direction of the reverse-V shape. Therefore, even when the stopper portion for regulating a movement of the slider is damaged, it is possible to prevent the slider from jumping out from the housing. Furthermore, the lock arm can not be easily disengaged. 
     In the fifth aspect, the slider has an evagination portion evaginating upward and abut against the pushing pawl. Therefore, it is possible to positively move the slider resisting an elastically pushing force while the mechanical strength of the abutment portion therebetween is being increased. 
     In the sixth aspect, the turning portions are formed at inner ends of the holes, respectively. Therefore, when the protrusion of the lock arm is engaged with the turning portion, it is possible to maintain a state in which each lock arm is retracted. Accordingly, the side lock device itself can be easily assembled to the opening and closing body, and the profile can be made compact. 
     In the seventh aspect, each of turning portions includes a perpendicular portion, which is perpendicular to the moving direction of the slider. Therefore, it is possible to retract the lock arm more than the normally use range of the operation lever  4 . Accordingly, the side lock device itself can be more easily assembled to the opening and closing body, and the profile can be made compact. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view showing a side lock device of the first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2A  is a front view of the housing, and  FIG. 2B  is a side view of the housing. 
         FIG. 3A  is a sectional view taken on line A-A in  FIG. 2A , and  FIG. 3B  is a sectional view taken on line B-B in  FIG. 2A . 
         FIG. 4A  is a front view of the slider, and  FIG. 4B  is a rear view of the slider. 
         FIG. 5A  is a side view of the slider, and  FIG. 5B  is a sectional view taken on line C-C in  FIG. 4A . 
         FIG. 6A  is a rear view of the operation lever, and  FIG. 6B  is a sectional view taken on line D-D in  FIG. 6A . 
         FIG. 7A  is a plan view of the lock arm,  FIG. 7B  is a sectional view taken on line E-E in  FIG. 7A , and  FIG. 7C  is a sectional view taken on line F-F o in  FIG. 7A . 
         FIG. 8  is a partially cutout front view showing a state in which the pin of the lock arm is inserted into the outer end opening of the long cam hole. 
         FIG. 9  is a front view showing a state in which the slider is assembled into the housing together with the lock arm. 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view showing a complete assembling state in which the operation lever is pivotally supported on the housing side. 
         FIG. 11A  is a partially cutout front view showing a state in which a forward end portion of the lock arm is engaged in the lock hole on the instrument panel, and  FIG. 11B  is a central sectional view showing the above state. 
         FIG. 12A  is a partially cutout front view showing a state in which a forward end portion of the lock arm is retracted from the lock hole on the instrument panel, and  FIG. 12B  is a central sectional view showing the above state. 
         FIG. 13  is a front view showing a slider provided for the side lock device of the second embodiment. 
         FIG. 14  is a front view showing a variation of the slider provided for the side lock device of the second embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to the drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail as follows. An object of the side lock device of the first embodiment is the glove box itself attached to the instrument panel of an automobile while the glove box is capable of being opened and closed. Alternatively, an object of the side lock device of the first embodiment is an independent lid of the glove box. The characteristic of this embodiment is the constitution described below. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the side lock device of the first embodiment includes: a housing  1  fixed to the glove box itself or the independent lid; a slider  2  movably held in the housing  1 ; two compression springs  3  for elastically pushing the slider  2  upward in the housing  1 ; an operation lever  4  for moving the slider  2  downward while resisting the elastically pushing force of the compression springs  3 ; and a pair of right and left lock arms  5  which is movably held on the housing  1  side and protruded to engage with a lock hole formed on the instrument panel. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the housing  1  includes: a base body  6 , the upper face side of which is open, in which the slider  2  is movably accommodated so that the slider  2  can be moved upward and downward; a pair of shafts  7  arranged on both sides of the front face of the base body  6 , engaged with a bearing  23  of the operation lever  4  described later; a window portion  8  formed at the center on the front face of the base body  6 , into which a pushing pawl  24  of the operation lever  4  is inserted; and an oscillation stopper wall  9  of the operation lever  4 , arranged on the upper edge side of the window  8 . 
     In addition to that, the housing  1  further includes a pair of holding grooves  10 , elastic pieces  11 , and a recess portion  13 . The pair of holding grooves  10  movably hold the pair of right and left lock arms  5  and are arranged on the rear face side of the base body  6  in the upper width direction. The elastic pieces  11  are formed on upper and lower edges of each of holding grooves. The elastic pieces  11  guide movement of the lock arms to suppress the occurrence of rattling of the lock arm  5 . The recess portion  13  is engaged with a protrusion  29  of the lock arm  5  described later and is formed on a wall face  12  provided at the rear of the opening of each holding groove  10 . This recess  13  is formed in such a manner that the position of the recess  13  is offset from the center in the height direction because of a relation between the recess  13  and the lock arms  5  described later, which are symmetrical with respect to right and left. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the slider  2  is formed to have a size so that the slider  2  can be accommodated in the base body  6  of the housing  1 . The slider  2  includes a hollow  14 , a pair of stopper protrusions  15 , and a pair of long cam holes  16 . The hollow  14  faces the pushing pawl  24  of the operation lever  4 . The pair of stopper protrusions  15  is formed on both sides of the lower portion of the hollow  14  and prevents the slider  2  itself from detaching when the stopper protrusions  15  enter the window  8  on the housing  1  side. The pair of the long cam holes  16  are formed to have a inclining reverse-V-shape on both side portions of the slider  2 . In this specification, the reverse-V-shape refers to a shape of a Japanese character “           ” and, for example, indicates the entire shape of the two long cam holes  16  shown in  FIG. 4 . The reverse-V-shape is formed of two liner portions, which open downward. The two linear portions are symmetric each other and have a vertical axis as an axis of symmetry. Upper ends of the linear portions don&#39;t intersect with each other and are a little distant from each other. The long cam holes  16  are engaged with the pins  28  of the lock arm  5  so that the pins  28  of the lock arm  5  is urged to protrude and retract from the housing  1 . A bottom face edge of the hollow  14  coming into contact with the pushing pawl  24  of the operation lever  4  is evaginated upward as shown in the drawing so that the pushing operation can be positively performed while the mechanical strength is being enhanced.
     Each of outer ends of the pair of long cam holes  16  having the reverse-V-shape open (opening  18 ) to the side surface of the slider  2 . At a position in the process of assembling the slider  2  to the base body  6  of the housing  1 , the opening  18  is kept open. At a position where the slider  2  is assembled to the housing  1 , the opening  18  is kept closed. A parallel portion  19 , which is parallel to a moving direction of the slider  2 , is formed on the outer end side of the long cam hole  16 . A side surface forming an edge of the parallel portion  19  is opposed to the opening  18 . A lower end wall  20  of the parallel portion  19  is perpendicular to the moving direction of the slider  2  or inclined to a direction opposite to a reverse-V-shape so that the lock arm  5  can be prevented from detaching. In this connection, an edge of the opening  18  is chamfered (a chamfered portion  21 ) so that a pin  28  of the lock arm  5  is easily inserted. Reference numeral  22  in the drawing denotes a portion for preventing the occurrence of rattling. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the operation lever  4  is formed in a plain plate like shape. The operation lever  4  includes the bearing portions  23  on both sides thereof and the pushing pawl  24  on the rear face side thereof. The shafts  7  of the housing  1  are engaged with the bearing portions  23 , respectively so that the operation lever  4  is axially supported on the side of the housing  1  swingably with the engaged portion serving as a fulcrum. The pushing pawl  24  faces the inside of the hollow  14  of the slider  2  to push the bottom evaginating portion  17 . When the operation lever  4  is operated to swing, the pushing pawl  24  moves the slider  2  downward against the pushing force of the compression coil spring  3 . 
     The pair of lock arms  5  are formed symmetrically to each other. As shown in  FIG. 7 , each lock arm  5  essentially includes a forward end portion  25 , which protrudes to engage with the lock hole formed on the side of the instrument panel, and a rear end portion  26  held by the holding groove  10  of the housing  1 . The rear end portion  26  includes slide grooves  27  formed on the both sides thereof opposed to each other, a protruding pin  28  formed on a front face side thereof, and a protrusion  29  formed on a back face side thereof. The slide grooves  27  are engaged with the upper and lower edges of the holding grooves  10 . The pin  28  is engaged with the long cam hole  16  having the reverse-V-shape. The protrusion  29  is engaged with the recess  13  formed on the wall face  12  at the rear of the holding groove  10 . The protrusions  29  of the lock arms  5  are positioned to be symmetric each other. On each side, the forward end portion  25  is inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to the rear end portion  26 . Accordingly, since the protrusion  29  engaging with the recess  13  is positioned being offset from the center in the height direction, it is possible to effectively prevent the pair of right and left lock arms  5  from being erroneously assembled. 
     The thus composed side lock device is assembled as follows. Two compression springs  3  are attached to the receiving portion formed on the bottom face of the base body  6  of the housing  1 . Then, when the lower end portion side of the slider  2  is a little inserted inside the base body  6 , the holding groove  10  and the outer end opening  18  of the long cam hole  16  match each other. Under this condition, the pair of right and left lock arms  5 , which are symmetrical to each other, are pushed into the corresponding grooves  10 . Then, as shown in  FIG. 8 , after the pin  28  of each lock arm  5  is made to collide with the parallel portion  19  of the long cam hole  16 , the slider  2  is completely inserted inside the base body  6  as it is. Then, as shown in  FIG. 9 , the stopper protrusion  15  on the slider  2  side enters the window  8  of the base body  6  and comes into contact with an upper edge of the window  8 . Due to the foregoing, the slider  2  can be movably supported on the housing  1  side without detaching. 
     In this case, under the condition that the slider  2  is a little inserted into the base body  6  of the housing  1 , the outer end opening  18  of each long cam hole  16  is open. Therefore, the pin  28  of the lock arm  5  is allowed to be pushed into the long cam hole  16 , and the pin  28  can be pushed until it collides with the parallel portion  19  of the long cam hole  16 . Accordingly, assembling can be easily performed. Further, after the assembling has been once completed, the outer end opening  18  is closed by the housing  1  even when the slider  2  is located at any position. Therefore, the pair of right and left lock arms  5 , which are symmetrical with respect to right and left, are not disengaged from the holding grooves  10 . 
     In the constitution of this embodiment, the slider  2  is moved upward and downward in the base body  6  of the housing  1 . Therefore, the slider  2  is moved along the front face of the glove box and/or the front face of the lid. Accordingly, the size and volume of the side lock device itself can be sufficiently reduced. 
     Accordingly, after that, when the shaft  7  of the housing  1  is engaged with the bearing  23  of the operation lever  4 , as shown in  FIG. 10 , the operation lever  4  is supported by the housing  1  being capable of oscillating. In this case, the pushing pawl  24  of the operation lever  4  faces the hollow  14  of the slider  2  through the window  8 , and the pins  28  of the pair of right and left lock arms  5  are located on the outer end side of the inclined long cam hole  16 . Therefore, the lock arm  5  is set being protruded to the side. 
     Finally, while the forward end portion  25  of each lock arm  5  is being inserted into a through-hole (not shown) formed on the side of the glove box or the lid, the housing  1  is fixed to the front face side of the glove box or the independent lid side. Then, the side lock device can be put into actual use. When the operation lever  4  is not operated being oscillated, the pair of right and left lock arms  5  are protruded to engage with lock holes H on instrument panel P as shown in  FIG. 11 . Therefore, the glove box itself and the independent lid can be locked in a closed state. 
     In the case of releasing the above locking condition, operation is performed as follows. This time, while an operator is holding the operating portion  4   a  of the operation lever  4 , the operator pulls up the operation lever  4 . Then, the pushing pawl  24  of the operation lever  4  pushes the evaginating portion  17  of the hollow  14  of the slider  2  downward, and the slider  2  is moved downward against the pushing force of the compression coil spring  3 . In accordance with the movement of the slider  2 , by the action of the long cam hole  16  having the reverse-V-shape, the pins  28  of the pair of right and left lock arms  5  are moved to the inner end side of the long cam hole  16 . Therefore, as shown in  FIG. 12 , the forward end portion  25  of each lock arm  5  is disengaged from lock hole H on instrument panel P. Therefore, the glove box itself or the independent lid can be allowed to move to the open direction. 
     Next, a side lock device according to a second embodiment will be explained below. From the essential viewpoint, the constitution of the side lock device of the second embodiment is made on the assumption of the first embodiment described above, however, only different points are described as follows. As shown in  FIG. 13 , the turning portions  30 , which are parallel with the moving direction of the slider  2 , are formed on the inner end side of the pair of long holes  16  having a reverse-V-shape. When the pin  28  of each lock arm  5  is engaged with the turning portion  30 , the lock arm  5  can be maintained in the state of being retracted. 
     Accordingly, in this second embodiment, the lock arm  5  can be maintained in the state of being retracted in the normal use range of the operation lever  4 . Therefore, the side lock device can be easily assembled to the glove box itself or the independent lid side, and further the profile can be made compact. In the case of releasing the state of drawing the lock arm  5  which is retracted, the operator may a little pull up the operation lever  4  and draw the lock arm  5  outside. However, when a spring is arranged between the lock arms  5 , only when the operation lever  4  is pulled up, the lock arms  5  can be automatically retracted by a pushing force of the spring. 
     In this case, when the turning portion  30  is given a portion  30   a , which is perpendicular to the moving direction of the slider  2 , as shown in  FIG. 14 , the lock arm  5  can be drawn to the housing  1  side more than the normal use range of the operation lever  4 . Therefore, the side lock device can be easily assembled to the glove box itself or the independent lid side, and further the profile can be made more compact. 
     As described above, when the above constitution is adopted in the present invention, the slider is moved in the housing along the front face of the opening and closing body. Therefore, compared with the conventional rotary system in which the rotary body is rotated, the size and volume of the side lock device itself can be reduced.