Door shutter

While a bending ability is maintained, it is possible to provide an outer appearance which is not made possible in the past. A door shutter includes a main body on a design surface side which is bent in a width direction through thin parts, and plural block pieces disposed between the thin parts on an underside of the main body, wherein an opening on a device side is opened or closed by sliding along a guide groove on the device side. On the main body, the thin parts are formed as a plane surface, and parts overlapping with the block pieces are formed in an upwardly convex curved shape.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART STATEMENT

The present invention relates to a bendable door shutter that is slid following a guide groove on a device side.

Among door shutters, there is one, as shown in Patent Document 1, having a main body on a design surface side which is bent via thin parts in the width direction, and plural block pieces (same as frame or core wood) disposed on the underside of that main body, for opening and closing a device opening by being slid following a guide groove having a curved part on the device side. Here, as the main body, a soft resin, or the like, is used in order to maintain bendability, the thin parts are formed at equal intervals, and each thin part and the parts between the thin parts are formed as a plane surface. As the block pieces, a hard resin, or the like, is used in order to give rigidity, and from the viewpoint of bendability, they are disposed integrally between the thin parts on the underside of the main body.

In the structure of the door shutter as above, in maintaining bendability, the design surface of the main body, that is, the part between the thin parts was limited to a plane surface. In other words, as the shutter, although it is preferable to make the design surface of the main body an upwardly convex curved shape, it was considered impossible in connection with that the bendability is impaired.

Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to solve the problems such as above, and to make it such that a cosmetic shape hitherto considered impossible can be given while maintaining bendability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to achieve the above purpose, the present invention is a door shutter, having a main body on a design surface side which is bent via thin parts in the width direction, and plural block pieces disposed between the thin parts on the underside of that main body, for opening and closing an opening on a device side by sliding along a guide groove on the device side, wherein on the main body, the thin parts are formed as a plane surface, and the parts overlapping with the block pieces are formed in an upwardly convex curved shape.

It is preferable that the structure of the above door shutter of the present invention be made concrete as follows:

(a) the block pieces are roughly inverted U shaped or T shaped in vertical section, and they project from the underside of the main body in a condition having the lower side not joined to that main body (second feature);

(b) the block pieces are integrally formed on the main body (third feature);

(c) the block pieces are formed with hard resin material, and the main body is formed with soft resin material (fourth feature).

In the invention of the first feature, as a shutter having a main body which is bent via thin parts in the width direction and plural block pieces disposed between the thin parts on the underside of that main body, by the fact that the main body is formed with the thin parts as a plane surface and the parts overlapping the block pieces in an upwardly convex curved shape, a novel cosmetic appearance can be given while maintaining bendability.

In the invention of the second feature, by the fact that the block pieces are made to project from the underside of the main body in a condition having the lower side not joined to the main body, the overall rigidity can be improved by making the block pieces larger without impairing the bendability. As opposed to this, in the inventions of third and four features, for example, the manufacturing expense can be reduced by the fact that the block pieces and the main body are integrally formed by two-material molding method, or the like. Also, the overall rigidity can be fulfilled by the block pieces made of hard resin, and the bending characteristic of the thin parts can be fulfilled by the main body made of soft resin.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Below; examples of the present invention are explained while referring to the attached drawings.FIG. 1toFIG. 5show an example of a shutter having applied to the present invention and a device using that shutter, andFIG. 6shows a modified example.

This shutter3has a main body1which is bent via plural thin parts11and has plural projections15formed on both side parts, and plural block pieces2disposed between the thin parts11on the underside of that main body1, and it is disposed so as to slide freely on guide grooves6provided on both sides of a receiving part5of a device4to open and close the opening of the receiving part5. This device4or receiving part5is provided in the center console of an automobile as disclosed in the Publication of Japanese Patent No. 3319202, and the guide groove6has a linear part6awhich extends front to back and a curved part6b. Also, the shutter3becomes the closed state when it is slid in the direction of the linear part6a, and it becomes the open state when it is slid in the direction of the curved part6b. However, there is no trouble even if the use of the shutter3is other than this.

Here, the main body1is set in a length dimension corresponding to the opening of the receiving part5, and it has plural thin parts11and parts12between the thin parts, as well as a handle part13provided as a recess in front on the leading end side, a coupling part14placed to project on the edge part of the leading end, and a large number of projections15provided on both sides.

Of these, each thin part11, as shown inFIGS. 4(a),4(b) andFIGS. 5(a) and5(b), extends in the width direction and is provided at equal intervals in the front-back direction, and its shape in the plate width or left-right direction is formed as a plane surface. The part12is a part overlapping the block piece2, and the shape in the plate width or left-right direction is formed as an upwardly convex curved shape made to fit the block piece2. The handle part13is used as a part for hooking the finger or hand when opening and closing the shutter3. The coupling part14is a place for maintaining the closed state by entering into a catch recess7provided on the front side of the receiving part5when the shutter3is disposed in the closed state inFIG. 1on the opening of the device side receiving part5. However, this coupling part14also may be omitted.

The projections15are provided between each thin part11, that is, on each part12, on both sides of the main body1. Each projection15, as shown inFIG. 3andFIG. 5(a)-5(c), is roughly L shaped, and it is positioned beneath the main body1by an amount equivalent to the vertical part15aof the L shape. On the horizontal part15bof the L shape, there is provided a slot16running in the front-back direction, and the side forward from that slot16serves as a part for coupling with the guide groove6. On this part, a dome-shaped small convex part17is provided on the terminal side of the horizontal part15b. The small convex part17makes reduction of sliding resistance possible by elastic action via a hollow18inside it when the projection15slides following the guide groove6.

As opposed to this, each block piece2, as shown inFIGS. 4(a),4(b) andFIG. 5(a)-5(c), is roughly inverted U shaped in vertical section, and it is integrated on the main body1in a condition having the upper side from the middle part joined and the lower side not joined. Therefore, each block piece2, when viewed from the underside of the shutter3, has the lower end part2bmade to project from the underside of the main body1in a condition having the area up to the near-middle part2aof the inverted U shape buried in the part12between thin part11and thin part11. Also, on both sides of the block piece2, there is a small projection20which is smaller than the projection15as inFIG. 5(b), and that small projection20is made integrally on a part corresponding to the projection15on the main body1.

The above shutter3is fabricated by two-material molding method. In this molding, in the first molding, the plural block pieces2are formed inside a mold using a hard resin material such as ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene polymer) or polypropylene, and then it is second molded. In the second molding, the main body1comes to be formed using a soft resin material such as polyester elastomer or polypropylene elastomer. Therefore, in this shutter3, the parts other than each block piece2which is the hard-resin part, the thin part11, the part12, the parts where the handle part13and the coupling part14are formed, the projections15on both sides, and the small convex parts17become the soft-resin parts formed with soft resin.

The above shutter3is incorporated into the device4in a state with each projection15coupled in the guide grooves6on both sides. In this state, as a shutter3, because the part12of the main body1overlapping with the block piece2is formed as an upwardly convex shape, the design surface comes to have a novel cosmetic appearance exhibiting roundness. Also, as for the shutter3, in the opening and closing operations, because the thin part11of the main body1is formed as a plane surface just as in the past, and moreover because the repelling force during bending deformation is absorbed by the dome shape being the hollow18of the small convex part17, the bendability is kept good and it becomes capable of sliding without the curved part6bof the guide groove6receiving unnecessary resistance.

MODIFIED EXAMPLE

FIG. 6shows an example having changed the shape of the above block piece. This block piece2A is roughly T shaped in vertical section, and it is integrated on the main body1in a condition having the horizontal part2ajoined and the vertical part2bnot joined. In this case as well, each block piece2A, when viewed from the underside of the shutter3, is made to project in a condition having the horizontal part2aof the T shape buried in the part12between thin part11and thin part11of the main body1and in a condition having the vertical part2bnot joined with the main body1. Thus the present invention can be modified variously except for the essential conditions specified in the claims. Also, it is optional concerning the use of the shutter1, the shape of the device-side guide groove, and the like.