Abstract:
A tray apparatus may include a housing, a tray slidably accommodated in the housing to be opened or closed, a rotary lock pivotally coupled to the housing at a hinge portion of the rotary lock and locking the tray to the housing when external shock is applied to the tray beyond a predetermined value, wherein a center of gravity of the rotary lock is positioned above the hinge portion, and a holding unit for holding the rotary lock in a normal state so that the rotary lock maintains an original position thereof.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application Number 10-2008-0047438 filed May 22, 2008, the entire contents of which application is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a tray apparatus, which prevents a tray, installed in a vehicle to hold articles, from unexpectedly opening due to external shocks. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     In vehicle safety standards or regulations, there is a regulation pertaining to interior compartment doors and stating that trays installed in a vehicle must not open in a dummy crash test under given conditions, in order to ensure the safety of occupants. 
     For example, referring to  FIG. 1 , showing a rotary tray apparatus, when the head of a dummy collides with a center fascia panel  1 , a tray  2  mounted to the panel  1  must not open. To this end, a car maker mounts a variety of devices for preventing the tray from opening, to the tray  2  and/or a tray housing  3  so as to prevent the tray  2  from unexpectedly opening due to external shocks. However, the effectiveness of the devices does not meet users&#39; expectations. 
     The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Various aspects of the present invention are directed to provide a tray apparatus, which is constructed so that a tray is not unexpectedly opened by external shocks and/or inertia force, to provide a tray apparatus, which has superior performance for preventing a tray from unexpectedly opening, and to provide a tray apparatus, which enables high freedom of design. 
     In an aspect of the present invention, a tray apparatus may include a housing, a tray slidably accommodated in the housing to be opened or closed, a rotary lock pivotally coupled to the housing at a hinge portion of the rotary lock and locking the tray to the housing when external shock is applied to the tray beyond a predetermined value, wherein a center of gravity of the rotary lock is positioned above the hinge portion, and/or a holding unit for holding the rotary lock in a normal state so that the rotary lock maintains an original position thereof. 
     A weight may be disposed at upper portion of the rotary lock with a predetermined distance from the hinge portion. The predetermined distance may be adjustable along the rotary lock so as to control a response time of the rotary lock. 
     The rotary lock may be pivotally coupled to the housing behind the tray so that the rotary lock returns to the original position as a user presses the try toward the housing. 
     The holding unit may include an elastic member supplying elastic force to the rotary lock sufficiently enough to hold the rotary lock in the original position in the normal state. 
     The elastic member may be a torsion spring disposed at the hinge portion of the rotary lock. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, the tray apparatus may further include first elastic piece formed at a slot installed at upper surface of the housing, upper end of the rotary lock passing through the slot that guides the upper end of the rotary lock in a forward or rearward direction, wherein first end of the slot is disposed substantially at the same position as the original position of the rotary lock and second end thereof is spaced from the first end of the slot in the forward direction from the original position of the rotary lock with a predetermined distance. The first elastic piece may protrude from the upper surface of the housing toward the slot at the second end of the slot so that the upper end of the rotary lock is held between the upper surface and the first elastic piece when the upper end of the rotary lock rotates toward the first elastic piece after the external shock is applied beyond the predetermined value. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, the tray apparatus may further include a pressing member disposed substantially at the original position of the rotary lock and slidably coupled to the upper surface of the housing in a perpendicular direction to longitudinal direction of the slot and slidably movable toward the slot, and/or an elastic member biasing the pressing member toward the slot, wherein the upper end of the rotary lock is held by the pressing member in the normal state. 
     A locking hole may be formed in the upper end of the rotary lock, and a locking protrusion is provided on a front end of the pressing member to correspond to the locking hole. 
     A second elastic piece may be formed at the first end of the slot, wherein the first end of the slot extends in the rearward direction from the original position of the rotary lock with a predetermined distance and the second elastic piece protrudes from the upper surface toward the slot so that the upper end of the rotary lock is held between the upper surface and the second elastic piece when the upper end of the rotary lock rotates toward the second elastic piece after the external shock is applied beyond the predetermined value. 
     In further another aspect of the present invention, the tray apparatus may include a damping unit coupled to rotary lock to reduce rotation speed of the rotary lock when the external shock is applied to the rotary lock. The damping unit may include a gear portion provided on a lower end of the rotary lock, wherein the hinge portion of the rotary lock is spaced from bottom surface of the housing with a predetermined distance, a toothed wheel rotatably mounted to the bottom surface of the housing, and engaging with the gear portion, thus limiting rotation angle of the rotary lock, and/or a damper coupled to the toothed wheel, limiting the rotation speed of the rotary lock. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, the tray apparatus may further include a hook attached to the rotary lock, the hook extending in the forward direction and bent perpendicularly at a front end thereof, wherein longitudinal axis of the hook is substantially perpendicular to longitudinal axis of the rotary lock, and/or a locking member provided at the tray, the locking member having a sliding hole, wherein the hook is locked to the locking member when the hook rotates along with the rotary lock with respect to the hinge portion of the rotary lock in tracing a predetermined radius and the hook is aligned to the sliding hole of the locking member when the hook is stationary. A rotary lock mounting space may be provided in a rear portion of the tray, and the locking member is provided on a tray wall in the rotary lock mounting space, and the sliding hole is formed in the tray wall so as to prevent the locking member from interfering with the hook when the rotary lock maintains the original state. 
     The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other features and advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and the following Detailed Description of the Invention, which together serve to explain certain principles of the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a view showing a conventional tray apparatus. 
         FIG. 2A  is a view showing an exemplary tray apparatus according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2B  is an enlarged view of the portion indicated by B in  FIG. 2A . 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 2A . 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the tray apparatus when viewing the tray apparatus from an angle different from that of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a view showing a rotary lock and a holding unit of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a view showing the state in which the rotary lock of the tray apparatus of  FIG. 3  is rotated clockwise so as to lock the tray. 
         FIG. 7  is a view showing the tray and the rotary lock which are separated from the tray apparatus of  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  is a view showing an exemplary tray apparatus according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a view showing the upper surface of a housing (portion on which a holding unit is provided) of the tray apparatus shown in  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 10  is a sectional view taken along line C-C of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIGS. 11A and 11B  are views showing a rotary lock and the holding unit of the tray apparatus of  FIG. 8 , respectively. 
         FIG. 12  is a view showing the state in which the rotary lock of the tray apparatus of  FIG. 8  is rotated clockwise so as to lock the tray. 
         FIG. 13  is a view showing the state in which the rotary lock of the tray apparatus of  FIG. 8  is rotated counterclockwise so as to lock the tray. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that present description is not intended to limit the invention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 
     A tray apparatus according to various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to  FIGS. 2A to 7 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2A to 3 , the tray apparatus includes a housing  10  which is open at the front, and a tray  20  which is accommodated in the housing  10  to be opened and closed. When the front of the closed tray  20  is slightly pressed, the tray  20  is slightly pushed backwards and thereafter opens. 
     Meanwhile, a slot  11   a  is provided in the upper surface  11  of the housing  10 , and the upper end of a rod  31  of a rotary lock protrudes upwards from the upper surface  11  through the slot  11   a . The upper end of the rod  31  is located at the rear end in the slot  11   a.    
     An elastic piece  11   b  is provided at the front end in the slot  11   a , and has a free end due to an extension hole  11   c , thus applying elastic force to the upper end of the rod perpendicularly relative to the slot  11   a.    
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 5 , a rotary lock  30  is installed in a space defined between the housing  10  and the tray  20 . The rotary lock  30  is secured via a hinge pin  13  between a pair of support ribs  12 , which are mounted to the bottom of the housing  10 , so that the rotary lock  30  may be rotated forwards and backwards around a hinge portion  13  (when the rotary lock rotates forwards, the tray opens). A damper  40  is provided under the rotary lock  30  in such a way as to be mounted to the bottom of the housing  10 , and serves as a holding unit for holding the rotary lock  30  so that the rotary lock  30  can be erected (the first position before the rotary lock  30  rotates). 
     The rotary lock  30  will be described with reference to  FIGS. 3 to 5 . The rotary lock  30  includes a rod  31  which is secured to the housing  10  via the hinge pin, a weight  32 , and a hook  34 . 
     As described above, the upper end of the rod  31  passes through the slot  11   a  to be exposed outside. The slot  11   a  guides the upper end of the rod  31  which rotates around the hinge portion  13 . First, the upper end of the rod  31  is located at the rear end in the slot  11   a  (see  FIG. 2B ). While the rotary lock  30  is rotated, the upper end of the rod  31  moves forwards along the slot  11   a  and is compressed by the elastic piece  11   b  which is provided at the front end in the slot  11   a , so that the upper end of the rod  31  is held in the front end of the slot  11   a.    
     The weight  32  is installed at the upper end of the rod  31 . The center of gravity of the rotary lock  30  is located above the hinge portion  13  by the weight  32 . When shocks are applied to the front or back of the tray apparatus, the weight  32  causes the upper end of the rotary lock  30  to be rotated in a tray opening direction (clockwise) prior to the tray  20 , and locks the tray  20 . The locking structure will be described below. 
     In various embodiments of the present invention, the weight  32  is adjustable along the rod  31  so that the response time of the rotary lock can be controlled. 
     The hinge pin (i.e. hinge portion  13 ) passes through a hinge support part  33  of the rod  31 , with a torsion spring S wound around the hinge support part  33 . The upper end of the torsion spring S is secured to the rod  31 , while the lower end of the torsion spring S is secured to the bottom of the housing  10 , so that the torsion spring S provides elastic force for rotating the rotary lock  30  counterclockwise. 
     The rotary lock holding unit will be described with reference to  FIGS. 4-6 . The rotary lock holding unit holds the rotary lock  30  such that it maintains its original erected state, and, in addition, rotates the rotary lock  30  around the hinge portion  13  when external force exceeding a predetermined level acts on the rotary lock  30 . The holding unit comprises a combination of a gear portion  31   a  provided on the lower end of the rod  31  and the damper  40  mounted to the underside of the housing  10 . 
     The gear portion  31   a  is provided on the lower end of the rod  31  having the shape of a fan, the lower portion of which is wider than the upper portion thereof. A toothed wheel  41  is provided on the damper  40  to engage with the gear portion  31   a . The damper  40  is an oil damper, and the rotation of the toothed wheel  41  is limited within a predetermined range by the viscosity of oil. Thus, the movement of the rotary lock  30 , whose gear portion  31   a  engages with the toothed wheel  41  of the damper  40 , is limited within a predetermined range. Meanwhile, the gear portion  31   a  is provided on part of the lower end of the rod  31 , that is, the rear side of the rod  31 , and a non-gear portion  31   b  is provided on the front side of the rod  31 . When the rotary lock  30  is vertically erected (first position), the toothed wheel  41  of the damper  40  engage with the gear portion  31   a . However, once force (rotating force acting in a clockwise direction) exceeding a predetermined level acts on the rotary lock  30 , the rotary lock  30  responds faster than the tray  20 , thus locking the tray  20 . 
     The structure for locking the tray  20  using the rotary lock  30  will be described with reference to  FIGS. 4 to 7 . 
     A hook  34  is provided on the rod  31 . The hook  34  extends from a position around the hinge portion  13  in a tray opening direction, that is, extends forwards, and then is bent perpendicularly at the front end thereof. Further, a locking member  26  is provided on the tray  20 , and engages with a hook  34  which rotates along with the rotary lock  30  while tracing a predetermined radius when the rotary lock  30  is rotated. The locking member  26  is provided on a tray wall  24  in a space  23  in which the rotary lock  30  is installed in the rear portion of the tray  20 . A sliding hole  25  is formed in the tray wall  24  in a horizontal direction thereof, and prevents the locking member  26  from interfering with the hook  34  when the rotary lock  30  is maintained at the first position. 
     Before the rotary lock  30  is rotated, a bent portion  34   a  of the hook  34  is located at a front position in the sliding hole  25 . When shocks are applied to the front or back of the tray apparatus, the upper end of the rotary lock  30  is rotated in the clockwise direction in the tray opening direction before the tray  20  slides forwards, so that the bent portion  34   a  of the hook  34  is locked to the locking member  26  (see  FIG. 6 ). The bent portion  34   a  is coupled to the locking member  26  through the opening  27 . Furthermore, the upper end of the rod  31  may be locked to the elastic piece  11   b . Meanwhile, the tray  20  may be released from the hook  34  and/or the elastic piece  11   b  merely by pressing the front of the tray  20  backwards so that the upper portion of the rod  31  and the weight  32  moves backwards by rear wall of the tray  20 . That is, when the front of the tray  20  is pressed backwards such that the locking member  26  can be released from the hook  34 , the rotary lock  30  is slowly rotated counterclockwise by the elastic force of the torsion spring S, so that the tray  20  returns to its original position. In  FIG. 7 , reference numeral  21  denotes a holding space of the tray  20 , and reference numeral  22  denotes a push-lock type latch. 
     Next, a tray apparatus according to other various embodiments will be described with reference to  FIGS. 8 to 13 . These embodiments are similar to those described above except for a rotary lock holding unit. Thus, elements common to both embodiments will carry the same reference numeral, excluding the holding unit. The duplicate description of elements common to both embodiments will be omitted herein. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 8 to 10 , the holding unit  50  according to various embodiments is provided on the upper surface of a housing  10 . The holding unit  50  includes a pressing member  51  which is inserted into a slot  11   a , and a spring  52  which biases the pressing member  51  to be perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the slot  11   a . When a rotary lock  30  is erected, the pressing member  51  presses the upper end of a rod  31  which passes through the slot  11   a , thus temporarily holding the rod  31 . 
     In various embodiments of the present invention, the pressing member  51  may not move into the slot  11   a  so that the movement of the upper end of the rod  31  is not interrupted by the pressing member  51 . One may appreciate a lot of methods, such as a protrusion or edges formed at the slot to prevent the pressing member  51  from moving into the slot  11   a.    
     Referring to  FIGS. 11A and 11B , in order to easily hold the upper end of the rod  31  using the pressing member  51 , a locking hole  31   c  is formed in the upper end of the rod  31 , and a locking protrusion  51   a  is formed in the front end of the pressing member  51  to correspond to the locking hole  31   c . Both the locking hole  31   c  and the locking protrusion  51   a  have curved surfaces. When external force is applied to the tray apparatus, the rod  31  overcomes a locking force by the cooperation of the locking protrusion  51   a  with the locking hole  31   c , and rotates around the hinge portion  13 . Unlike some embodiments, according to various embodiments, elastic pieces  11   b  are provided on both ends of the slot  11   a . When the rotary lock  30  is erected first, the upper end of the rod  31  is located at the center in the slot  11   a  (see  FIG. 9 ). The structure of the slot  11   a  and the arrangement of the upper end of the rod  31  allow the rotary lock  30  to be rotated clockwise (see  FIG. 12 ), or to be rotated counterclockwise (see  FIG. 13 ) according to the direction in which shocks act on the tray apparatus. But, the result of repetitive experiments show that the rotary lock  30  is rotated clockwise, regardless of whether shocks are applied to the front or back of the tray apparatus. 
     Meanwhile, locking members  26  are provided on the tray wall  24  of the rotary lock mounting space in such a way as to be located above and under a sliding hole. The rotary lock  30  rotated by external shocks is held by the elastic pieces  11   b . Unlike some embodiments, a torsion spring is not installed at the rotary lock  30 . However, a member for providing restoring force to the rotary lock  30 , such as the torsion spring, may be used in various embodiments. 
     As described above, the present invention provides a tray apparatus, which prevents a tray from unexpectedly opening due to external shocks and/or inertia force, and has superior opening prevention performance. 
     Further, a tray opening prevention mechanism is installed in the rear portion of the tray so that the mechanism is not exposed to the outside, and thus the front of the tray may have various designs. 
     For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appended claims, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “front”, “rear”, “back”, “forwards”, and “backwards” are used to describe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of such features as displayed in the figures. 
     The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of the invention and their practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents.