Patent Publication Number: US-2012032456-A1

Title: Trunk locking system

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a trunk locking system which controls the opening and closing of a vehicle trunk, and in particular relates to a trunk locking system which releases a vehicle trunk lock by operating an emergency trunk release handle that is installed inside a vehicle trunk. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     This type of trunk locking system is constructed to be capable of opening a trunk door of a vehicle from the inside of the vehicle trunk cavity by manually pulling on an emergency trunk release handle installed inside the vehicle. The emergency trunk release handle that is used in this way is made of a synthetic resin containing a luminous material (a luminous resin material that glows in the dark) so that a person (especially a child) who is trapped in a vehicle trunk cavity can visually recognize the emergency trunk release handle in the dark trunk cavity, and it has been conventionally the case that an icon (function indicator) such as a pictogram or an ideogram representing the usage (function) of the emergency trunk release handle is printed on both surfaces of the emergency trunk release handle. In addition, instead of the emergency trunk release handle, on both sides of which icons (function indicators) are printed, the emergency trunk release handle made of a luminous resin material, through which an icon-shaped through hole (s) is formed as an icon (function indicator), has also been proposed (see U.S. Pat. No. 7,029,138 B2). 
     However, luminous resin materials are expensive, so that the aforementioned icon-printed type of emergency trunk release handle, part of which icons are printed after the entire handle is formed of a luminous resin material, requires a large quantity of luminous resin material to be molded and is therefore costly. In addition, in this icon-printed type of emergency trunk release handle, since an icon needs to be printed on each of both surfaces of the emergency trunk release handle, the icon printing procedure is a cause of an additional increase in production cost. Furthermore, the aforementioned through-hole-icon type of emergency trunk release handle has the advantage of not requiring a large quantity of luminous resin material to be molded; however, since the emergency trunk release handle is thick, the edges of each icon-shaped through hole at both ends thereof cannot be visually recognized clearly when seen from an oblique direction in which each icon-shaped through hole cannot be visually and clearly recognized as a through hole, and accordingly, there the concern that the visibility of each icon (icon-shaped through hole) becomes extremely poor when it is seen from such an oblique direction. Moreover, there is a high possibility that a person who is trapped in a vehicle trunk sees the emergency trunk release handle from a direction oblique to the emergency trunk release handle because a vehicle trunk is particularly small and tight, and also there is a high possibility of such a person being a child. Considering these possibilities, the poor visibility of the icon is a big problem for the emergency trunk release handle. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been devised in view of the above described problems in prior art and provides a trunk locking system using an emergency trunk release handle, wherein the quantity of luminous resin material required to mold the emergency trunk release handle is small and the visibility of the icon on the emergency trunk release handle is high. 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, a trunk locking system provided with an emergency trunk release handle inside a trunk is provided, a locking mechanism of the trunk locking system being unlocked by operating the emergency trunk release handle, wherein the emergency trunk release handle includes a handle body, which is made of a luminous resin material containing a luminous material, including at least one icon-shaped through-hole that is shaped into an icon in cross section; and a non-luminous resin material which is embedded in the icon-shaped through-hole. 
     It is desirable for one and the other of an inner periphery of the icon-shaped through hole of the handle body and an outer periphery of the non-luminous resin material to include at least one retaining projection and at least one retaining recess, respectively, which are engaged with each other to prevent the non-luminous resin material from coming off the icon-shaped through hole. 
     It is desirable for the retaining projection to be formed on the inner periphery of the icon-shaped through hole of the handle body while the retaining recess is formed in the outer periphery of the non-luminous resin material. 
     It is desirable for the trunk locking system to include a locking mechanism interconnecting member made of the non-luminous resin material, wherein the locking mechanism interconnecting member and the handle body are double-molded. 
     It is desirable for a part of the locking mechanism interconnecting member which is embedded in the handle body to include at least one icon-shaped element, and for the handle body to be molded with the part of the locking mechanism interconnecting member with both end faces of the icon-shaped element exposed from both surfaces of the handle body, respectively. 
     It is desirable that the non-luminous resin material be a black-colored resin material that displays a high contrast difference between the luminous resin material and the non-luminous resin material. 
     In regard to the luminous resin material, an ABS resin mixed with a luminous material such as Luminova (a trademark and a product of NEMOTO&amp;CO.,LTD) be used. In addition, for instance, nylon or PP (polypropylene) can be used as the non-luminous resin material. 
     It is desirable for the locking mechanism interconnecting member to be directly connected to the locking mechanism. 
     It is desirable for the locking mechanism interconnecting member to be connected to the locking mechanism via a connecting wire. 
     In an embodiment, an emergency trunk release handle is provided, which is installed inside a vehicle trunk, including a handle body made of a luminous resin material and having at least one through-hole shaped into an icon in cross section, and 
     a non-luminous resin material which is embedded in the through-hole. 
     According to the present invention, a trunk locking system equipped with an emergency trunk release handle is achieved, wherein the quantity of luminous resin material required to mold the emergency trunk release handle is small and the visibility of the icon on the emergency trunk release handle is high. 
     The present disclosure relates to subject matter contained in Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-175065 (filed on Aug. 4, 2010), which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be discussed below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a front elevational view of a main part of an embodiment of a trunk locking system equipped with an emergency trunk release handle according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a side elevational view of the components shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view taken along the line shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view taken along the IV-IV line shown in  FIG. 1   
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a main part of another embodiment of the trunk locking system equipped with an emergency trunk release handle according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the components shown in  FIG. 5  in a different state; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the components shown in  FIG. 5  in another state; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a rear part of a vehicle around the trunk (trunk lid) to which a trunk locking system equipped with an emergency trunk release handle according to the present invention is installed; and 
         FIG. 9  is a front elevational view of another embodiment of the trunk locking system equipped with an emergency trunk release handle according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 8  shows a rear part of a vehicle  10  around a trunk thereof to which a trunk locking system equipped with an emergency trunk release handle (internal trunk release lever) according to the present invention is installed. The vehicle  10  is provided in the rear thereof with a trunk cavity  11  and a trunk lid  12  for opening and closing the trunk cavity  11 . The trunk locking system is provided with a locking mechanism  14 , a striker  15  and an emergency trunk release handle  20 . The locking mechanism  14  and the striker  15  that are for locking the trunk lid  12  in the lock position are fixed to the trunk lid  12  and a vehicle body  13 , respectively. 
     The emergency trunk release handle  20  is connected to the locking mechanism  14  via a connecting wire  16 . The emergency trunk release handle  20  is held by (or suspended from) an inner surface of the trunk lid  12 . In case of accidental shutting of the trunk lid  12  with a person in the trunk cavity  11 , this person trapped in the trunk cavity  11  can unlock the locking mechanism  14  to open the trunk lid  12  from the inside of the trunk cavity  11  by manually pulling on the emergency trunk release handle  20  in the trunk cavity  11 . The locking mechanism  14  can be unlocked by a normal lock release operation; however, a normal lock release system is not shown in the drawings. 
     Each embodiment of the trunk locking system which will be discussed below is characterized by the emergency trunk release handle  20  thereof that is used in the above described manner, and  FIGS. 1 through 4  shows a first embodiment of the trunk locking system. The emergency trunk release handle  20  includes a handle body  20 H and a locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C joined to the handle body  20 H. The handle body  20 H is made of a luminous resin material (e.g., an ABS resin) containing a luminous material (e.g., Luminova (a trademark and a product of NEMOTO&amp;CO.,LTD) so that one can see the handle body  20 H in the dark. The locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C is made of a non-luminous resin material (e.g., nylon) which is lower in price and higher in strength than a luminous resin material. The handle body  20 H is formed into a macroscopically 
     T-shaped plate so as to be held by the operator&#39;s fingers, and icon-shaped through holes  21  that visually indicate the function and operating procedure of the emergency trunk release handle  20  are formed through the handle body  20 H. Icon-shaped elements  22  serving as pictorial representations which are made of a non-luminous resin (e.g., a black-colored nylon) are molded and embedded into the icon-shaped through holes  21 . The inner periphery of each icon-shaped through hole  21  partly projects inwardly to form a retaining projection  23  (see  FIG. 3 ), while the outer periphery of each icon-shaped element  22  partly projects outwardly to forma retaining recess  24  to correspond to the retaining projection  23  in the associated icon-shaped through hole  21 . 
     The handle body  20 H is provided, at an end thereof on the locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C side, with an anchor-shaped portion  25 , the sectional area of which firstly increases and subsequently decreases in the direction toward the locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C. A coupling through hole  26  is formed through the anchor-shaped portion  25 . The locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C is double-molded in a different color (material) from the handle body  20 H around the anchor-shaped portion  25  and the coupling through hole  26  of the handle body  20 H (the locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C is molded integrally with the handle body  20 H so that the anchor-shaped portion  25  is embedded in the end (the upper end with respect to  FIG. 1 ) of the locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C which is fixed to the handle body  20 H). The locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C is provided on the handle body  20 H with a columnar portion  27 , and is further provided with an extension portion  28  which is connected to the columnar portion  27  to be continuous therefrom. A wire connecting hole  29  for connecting with the connecting wire  16  is formed through the extension portion  28 . It is desirable that the locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C and the icon-shaped elements  22  be double-molded simultaneously with the handle body  20 H molded in advance. 
     The above described formation of the icon-shaped through holes  21  in the handle body  20 H makes it possible to achieve a reduction in amount of a high-cost luminous resin material to be used. In addition, the above described molding and embedding of the non-luminous icon-shaped elements  22  in the icon-shaped through holes  21  makes it possible to enhance the visibility of the icon-shaped elements  22  regardless of the orientation of the emergency trunk release handle  20 . More specifically, assuming the situation that the emergency trunk release handle  20  (the handle body  20 H) is seen from the direction of the arrow A shown in  FIG. 3  and that non-luminous elements such as the non-luminous icon-shaped elements  22  are not embedded in the icon-shaped through holes  21 , the edges of each icon-shaped through hole  21  at both ends thereof cannot be visually recognized clearly and therefore the visibility of the icon-shaped elements  22  deteriorates because the handle body  20 H that has the icon-shaped through holes  21  is entirely made of a luminous resin material. In contrast to this, if the non-luminous icon-shaped elements  22  are respectively positioned (embedded) in the icon-shaped through holes  21 , the icon-shaped elements  22  can be visually recognized clearly as non-luminous portions positioned in the luminous resin material (the handle body  20 H) regardless of the direction in which the emergency trunk release handle  20  (the handle body  20 H) is seen. 
     The locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C is made of a resin material (e.g., nylon) which is lower in cost than and superior in strength to the luminous resin material of the handle body  20 H; moreover, the locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C is formed into a shape having a sufficient strength. In addition, the combination of the locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C and the handle body  20 H ensures a sufficient strength because the locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C and the handle body  20 H are molded together with the anchor-shaped portion  25  and the coupling through hole  26  that are formed on the handle body  20 H embedded in the locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C. 
       FIGS. 5 through 7  show another embodiment of the emergency trunk release handle  20  according to the present invention. In this embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the icon-shaped elements  22  and the locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C are integrally molded in advance from a non-luminous resin material (e.g., nylon) to be formed as an icon-embedded locking-mechanism interconnecting member (locking-mechanism interconnecting member)  20 X. More specifically, the icon-embedded locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 X is provided with a thin-walled T-shaped connecting portion  20 Y, from which the icon-shaped elements  22  protrude at both sides. The T-shaped connecting portion  20 Y is integrally formed with the locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C. Two coupling reinforcing holes (coupling through-holes)  26   a  are formed through an end of the T-shaped connecting portion  20 Y at the locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C side. Instead of the wire connecting hole  29  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the extension portion  28  of the icon-embedded locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 X is provided, at the opposite end thereof from the locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 C (the lower end of the extension portion  28  with respect to  FIG. 5 ), with a locking mechanism coupling sphere  29   a  which is integrally molded with the extension portion  28 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , the locking mechanism coupling sphere  29   a  is directly hitched to a lock release lever (rigid lever)  14   a  (without via a flexible connecting wire). 
     The handle body  20 H and the icon-embedded locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 X are double-molded (the handle body  20 H is molded with the T-shaped connecting portion  20 Y embedded in the handle body  20 H). Namely, the handle body  20 H is molded around both sides of the T-shaped connecting portion  20 Y (including the two coupling reinforcing holes  26   a ) so as to have the same thickness as the icon-shaped elements  22  (see  FIGS. 6 and 7 ). Accordingly, the icon-shaped elements  22  are identical in thickness to the handle body  20 H, and both end faces of each icon-shaped element  22  in the direction of thickness thereof (the direction of thickness of the handle body  20 H) are exposed from the surface of the handle body  20 H, and therefore, the icon-shaped elements  22  having the same (inverted) shape can be visually recognized from either side of the handle body  20 H. The handle body  20 H and the icon-embedded locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 X are firmly and securely joined to each other due to the difference in thickness between each icon-shaped element  22  and the T-shaped connecting portion  20 Y and the engagement of the handle body  20 H with the two coupling reinforcing holes  26   a.    
     In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 5 through 7 , the icon-shaped through holes  21  cannot be seen before the handle body  20 H is molded because the handle body  20 H is molded in a different color (material) from the icon-embedded locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 X after the icon-embedded locking-mechanism interconnecting member  20 X is molded. However, the icon-shaped through holes  21  that correspond to the icon-shaped elements  22  are formed through the post-molded handle body  20 H. In addition, similar to the first embodiment, the effect of improving the visibility of the icon-shaped elements  22  that is produced by the existence of the icon-shaped elements  22  in the icon-shaped through holes  21  can also be obtained in the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 5 through 7 . 
     Obvious changes may be made in the specific embodiments of the present invention described herein, such modifications being within the spirit and scope of the invention claimed. It is indicated that all matter contained herein is illustrative and does not limit the scope of the present invention.