Safety catch for storage device lid

Abstract: A glove box furnished with a safety catch includes a housing (H), lid (B) switch-movably supported inside the housing (H), a biasing device (11)for keeping the lid (B) biased constantly in an opening direction and a lock device (12,13) for controlling the motion of the lid (B). The lid (B) is caused by the operation of the lock device (12,13) to be locked at a shutting position thereof inside the housing (H) against the action of the biasing device (11) and, by pushing it into the housing (H), allowed to be released from the locked state at the shutting position and moved automatically in the opening direction from an opening part of the housing (H). The safety function is manifested by providing the lid (B) with a rotary member (1), a device (2) for exerting a rotary force on the rotary member (1) in one direction, an inertia follower (4) movable to a waiting position and an operating position, the rotary member (1) and the inertia follower (4) being provided on the housing (H), and a protuberance (9) provided on the lid (B) for allowing the rotary member (1) to be rotated in the reverse direction during a release of the lid (B) from the locked state at the shutting position. The inertia follower (4) is moved to the operating position and the rotary member (1) is prevented from rotating in the reverse direction only during the presence of inertial force.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention: This invention relates to a storage device such as disposed on a dashboard of an automobile and more particularly to a storage device furnished with a safety function. 2. Description of the Prior Art: Among the conventional safety function-furnished storage devices of this class is cited the one which is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Public Disclosure No. 2-25332, which corresponds to the preamble of the claim. The conventional storage device comprises a storage cabinet switch-movably supported in a housing formed on the dashboard side, biasing means for exerting a spring pressure on the storage cabinet to keep this storage cabinet biased constantly in the opening direction, a cam member provided with a cam groove and disposed rotatably on the housing side, and a pin member movable inside the cam groove of the cam member and disposed on the storage cabinet side, with the pin member and the cam member serving jointly as lock means, and is characterized in that a guide piece is integrally extended from the rear terminal part of the cam member, that an inertia follower is disposed slidably on the guide piece, that a tension spring is utilized to bias the inertia follower in the direction of the rear terminal part of the cam member, and that a lock cylinder for admitting the terminal part of the inertia follower is installed at a position opposite the housing. In the conventional storage device constructed as described above, therefore, normal use thereof is attained by pushing the storage cabinet into the housing and synchronously causing the pin member to rotate the cam member in a prescribed direction and come into engagement with the lock part of the cam groove of the cam member, with the result that the storage cabinet is locked at the shutting position thereof inside the housing in spite of the spring pressure of the biasing means. When the storage cabinet presently in the shut and locked state is pushed further into the housing, the pin member is released from the engagement with the lock part of the cam groove and the cam member is allowed to rotate in the direction of opening the lock. As a result, the storage cabinet is automatically allowed to depart from the opening part of the housing and move in the opening direction by virtue of the spring pressure of the biasing means. When the storage cabinet which is now in the locked state at the shutting position is exposed to a large inertial force arising from a collision of the automobile carrying the storage cabinet or application of sudden brakes to the automobile, the terminal part of the inertia follower disposed on the guide piece of the cam member thrusts into the lock cylinder in spite of the biasing force of the tension spring and consequently prevents the cam member from rotating in the direction of opening the lock. As a result, the possibility of the storage cabinet accidentally thrusting out of the opening part of the housing is precluded. In the conventional storage device, therefore, since the safety function described above operates to prevent the storage cabinet from accidentally thrusting out of the opening part of the housing, the possibility of this storage device inflicting damage on the driver and the occupants of the automobile carrying the storage device is nil notwithstanding that the operating direction in which the storage cabinet is released from the lock at the shutting position is identical with the direction in which the inertial force is generated as during a collision. Since the conventional storage device, for the purpose of acquiring the safety function capable of utilizing the operation of the inertial force in preventing the storage cabinet from accidentally thrusting out of the housing, uses the construction for causing the inertia follower to act directly on the cam member which forms the lock means in tandem with the pin member, the place for installing the inertia follower and accessorial parts thereof is limited to the lock means side. This fact entails the disadvantage that the lock means occupies an unduly large space. Furthermore, the conventional storage device is liable to lack reliability because of the undeniable possibility that the cam member will rotate in the direction of opening the lock and accidentally expel the storage cabinet from the housing before the inertia follower moves on the guide piece when the lock-opening stroke of the storage cabinet is short. In the light of the problems suffered by the conventional safety function-furnished storage device as described above, this invention has as a major object thereof the provision of a storage device which is allowed to manifest a safety function infallibly without requiring the lock means side to be unduly enlarged. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To attain the above object, according to the present invention there is provided a storage device furnished with a safety function, comprising a housing containing an opening part, a storage compartment switch-movably supported inside the housing, biasing means for keeping the storage compartment biased constantly in an opening direction, and lock means for controlling the switching motion of the storage compartment, the storage compartment being caused by the operation of the lock means to be locked at a shutting position thereof inside the housing in spite of the action of the biasing means and, by pushing it into the housing, allowed to be released from the locked state at the shutting position and moved automatically into the opening direction from the opening part of the housing, the storage device further comprising, for manifesting the safety function, a rotary member, means for exerting a rotary force on the rotary member in one direction, an inertia follower movable to a waiting position and an operating position, the rotary member and the inertia follower being provided on the housing, and a protuberance provided on the storage compartment for allowing the rotary member to be rotated in the reverse direction during a release of the storage cabinet from the locked state at the shutting position, whereby the inertia follower is moved to the operating position and the rotary member is prevented from rotating in the reverse direction only during the presence of an inertial force, said rotary member and said inertia follower being provided on an inside bottom of the housing and said protuberance being provided on an outside bottom of the storage compartment so that the rotary member, the inertia follower and the protuberance are disposed in a dead space defined by the inside bottom of the housing and the outside bottom of the storage compartment. The above and other objects, characteristic features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the detailed description to be given hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of the essential part of a storage device embodying this invention, depicting the relation of the lock means and the biasing means in the device. Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the essential part of the storage device, depicting the relation of the safety function part of the device. Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross section of the essential part of the storage cabinet, depicting the locked state thereof. Figure 4 is a plan cross section of the storage cabinet, depicting the locked state thereof. Figure 5 is a plan cross section of the storage cabinet, depicting the unlocked state thereof. Figure 6 is a longitudinal cross section of the essential part of the storage device, depicting the state in which the safety function is put to operation. Figure 7 is a plan cross section of the essential part of the storage device, depicting the state in which the safety function is put to operation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Now, this invention will be described specifically below with reference to one embodiment illustrated in the drawings. As illustrated in Figure 1, the storage device for an automobile in this embodiment is fundamentally constructed of a housing H formed on a dashboard side, a storage compartment (cabinet) B switch-movably supported inside the housing H , a constant-pressure spring 11 for keeping the storage cabinet B biased constantly in the opening direction, a cam member 12 provided with a cam groove 12a and disposed rotatably on the housing H side, and a pin member 13 adapted to move inside the cam groove 12a of the cam member 12 and disposed on the storage cabinet B side, so that the storage cabinet B is enabled, by the action of lock means formed jointly of the pin member 13 and the cam member 12, to be locked at the shutting position inside the housing H in spite of the spring pressure of the constant-pressure spring 11 and is allowed, by a further push of the storage cabinet B into the housing H , to be released from the locked state at the shutting position created by the lock means and moved automatically in the opening direction from the opening part of the housing H by virtue of the spring pressure of the constant-pressure spring 11. In Figure 1, reference numeral 14 stands for a fitting shaft rotatably supporting the cam member 12 through a torsion spring 15 and a washer 16, numeral 17 for a regulating wall for regulating the position at which the cam member 12 is biased in the rotary direction, and numeral 18 for an engaging wall for securing the terminal part of the torsion spring 15 in tandem with an arm 12b of the cam member 12. The constant-pressure spring 11 functions as means for biasing the storage cabinet B by winding the spring 11 round a winding shaft 19 in the contracting direction, fixing the winding shaft 19 to the rear terminal wall of the storage cabinet B through a bearing part 20, and fixing the free terminal part 11a of the spring 11 as with screws to the bottom surface of the housing H near the opening part thereof. The mechanism for switching the storage cabinet B is not so important for this invention. Optionally, it may be substituted by some other known mechanism which is capable of fulfilling the same function. The present embodiment, with the construction described above as a precondition, contemplates having the parts capable of manifesting the safety function disposed in a dead space to be defined by the bottom part of the housing H and the bottom part of the storage cabinet B. To be more specific, the present embodiment is constructed, as illustrated in Figure 2, of a sector-shaped rotary member 1 having exerted thereon a rotary force generated by the spring pressure of a torsion spring 2 in the counterclockwise direction in the bearings of the diagram and disposed rotatably through a shaft 3 at a prescribed site on the inner surface of the deep interior side of the bottom part of the housing H , an inertia follower 4 disposed at a site near the rotary member 1 and adapted to be moved to the waiting position and the operating position through a cylindrical guide wall 5, a tension coil spring 6 for biasing the inertia follower 4 away from the rotary member 1 toward the waiting position, and a protuberance 9 integrally formed on the outer surface of the bottom part of the storage cabinet B and adapted to rotate the rotary member 1 in the clockwise direction in the bearings of the diagram in spite of the spring pressure of the torsion spring 2 when the storage cabinet B is pushed into the housing H. In Figure 2, reference numeral 7 stands for a stopper part for regulating the position for biasing the rotary member 1 and numeral 8 for an engaging part for securing one terminal part of the torsion spring 2. These parts 7 and 8 are formed integrally on the inner surface of the bottom part of the housing H . As means for biasing the inertia follower 4 toward the waiting position, a compression coil spring may be used in place of the tension coil spring 6 to suit the occasion. In any event in the present embodiment, therefore, the rotary member 1, inertia follower 4, protuberance 9, etc. which jointly manifest the safety function can be invariably installed simply within the dead space defined by the bottom part of the housing H and the bottom part of the storage cabinet B as completely separated from the lock means 12 and 13 described above. In the storage device of this embodiment, therefore, when the storage cabinet B is pushed into the housing H in spite of the spring pressure of the constant-pressure spring 11 for the sake of actuating the storage device for normal service, the storage cabinet B can be infallibly locked at the shutting position inside the housing H owing to the operation of the lock means formed jointly by the cam member 12 and the pin member 13. While the storage cabinet B is kept locked at the shutting position as described above, the sector-shaped rotary member 1 is biased by the spring pressure of the torsion spring 2 in the counterclockwise direction until collision against the stopper part 7 and the inertia follower 4 is biased by the spring pressure of the tension coil spring 6 away from the rotary member 1 toward the waiting position as illustrated in Figure 3 and Figure 4. When the storage cabinet B kept locked at the shutting position is pushed into the housing H , the protuberance 9 provided on the storage cabinet B enables the sector-shaped rotary member 1 to be rotated in the reverse direction in spite of the spring pressure of the torsion spring 2 and permits a further push of the storage cabinet B necessary for releasing the lock means as illustrated in Figure 5. When the operation of further pushing the storage cabinet B is then ceased, the storage cabinet B is automatically moved by the spring pressure of the constant-pressure spring 11 in the opening direction (the direction indicated by an arrow in Figure 5) from the opening part of the housing H . It goes without saying that the rotary member 1 is again biased in the counterclockwise direction when the storage cabinet B is moved in the opening direction. When the storage device is exposed to a large inertial force G as illustrated in Figure 6 and Figure 7 due to a collision of the automobile or application of sudden brakes while the storage cabinet B is kept locked at the shutting position, the inertia follower 4 provided on the housing H is moved from the waiting position to the operating position and utilized instantaneously in preventing the rotary member 1 from being rotated in the direction opposite the biasing direction. When the storage cabinet B tends to be moved by the inertial force G in the direction of releasing the lock means (toward the deep interior side of the housing H ), the protuberance 9 provided on the storage cabinet B collides against the rotary member 1 and infallibly prevents the storage cabinet B from being moved in the same direction over a distance necessary for releasing the lock means. As a result, the storage cabinet B is maintained at the shutting position inside the housing H and prevented from thrusting out of the housing H accidentally. When the inertial force G mentioned above ceases to exist, the inertia follower 4 is automatically returned to the waiting position by the spring pressure of the tension coil spring 6 and the sector-shaped rotary member 1 is automatically returned to the biasing position by the spring pressure of the torsion spring 2. Thus, the normal switching operation of the storage device can be ensured. As described above, this invention adopts the construction in which, of the parts jointly manifesting the safety function, the rotary member and the inertia follower are disposed on the housing and the protuberance is disposed on the storage cabinet and the three parts are completely separated from the lock means. Unlike the conventional storage device, the storage device of this invention has absolutely no possibility of using a large space for the lock means. Since the adoption of the construction described above permits formation of a useful dead space between the housing and the storage cabinet, the possibility of restricting the space for storage within the storage cabinet is completely eliminated. Further, in this invention, when the inertial force is generated, the rotary member is infallibly prevented from being rotated in the reverse direction owing to the particular construction contemplated by this invention. Thus, the storage device of this invention enjoys conspicuous improvement in reliability as compared with the conventional countertype.

Claims: A storage device furnished with a safety function for use in an automobile, comprising: a housing (H) containing an opening part; a storage compartment (B) switch-movably supported inside said housing (H); biasing means (11) for keeping said storage compartment (B) biased constantly in an opening direction; and lock means (12, 13) for controlling the switching motion of said storage compartment (B); said storage compartment (B) being caused to be locked by the operation of said lock means (12, 13) at a shutting position thereof inside said housing in spite of the action of said biasing means and, by pushing it into said housing (H), being allowed to be released from the locked state in the shutting position and moved automatically into the opening direction from said opening part of said housing: characterized by said storage device comprising, for manifesting said safety function, a rotary member (1), means (2) for exerting a rotary force on said rotary member in one direction, an inertia follower (4) movable to a waiting position and an operating position, said rotary member (1) and said inertia follower (4) being provided on said housing (4), and a protuberance (9) provided on said storage compartment (B) for allowing said rotary member (1) to be rotated in the reverse direction during a release of said storage compartment (B) from the locked state at the shutting position, whereby said inertia follower (4) is moved to the operating position and said rotary member (1) is prevented from rotating in the reverse direction only during the presence of inertial force, the further improvement being comprised in that said rotary member (1) and said inertia follower (4) are provided on an inside bottom of said housing (H), and that said protuberance (9) is provided on an outside bottom of said storage compartment (B) so that said rotary member (1), said inertia follower (4) and said protuberance (9) are disposed in a dead space defined by the inside bottom of said housing (H) and the outside bottom of said storage compartment (B).

Inventors: ASANO KAZUNORI, ASANO, KAZUNORI
Applicants: KATO HATSUJO KAISHA LTD, KATO HATSUJO KAISHA LTD.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B60R7
IPC codes: B60R7, B60N3, E05C19, E05B65