Interior fitting for a vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to an interior fitting for a vehicle comprising a base (11) and a runner (12) which is movable relative to the base (11) on a path of movement between a first position and a second position, with a runner guide (13a, 13b), with first guide means (14) of the base (11) and second guide means (15) of the runner (12) and with an energy device (16) for supplying the runner (12) with electrical energy via a cable (17) and with a cable guide (18) which has a wheel (19) and a wheel guide (20).The special feature is that the wheel guide (20) comprises at least a first toothed rail (21) of the base (11) as well as at least a second toothed rail (22) of the runner (12) and a toothed section (26) of the wheel (19) which engages with the first toothed rail (21) and the second toothed rail (22) and is rollable relative to the first toothed rail (21) and the second toothed rail (22), wherein the wheel (19) comprises a cable guide section (27) which is enclosed by a partial section of the cable (17) and wherein the cable (17) can be assigned to a base-side cable section (24) and a runner-side cable section (25) with the wheel (19) and the base-side cable section (24) and the runner-side cable section (25) can be maintained in an extended form.

Description

According to a first aspect, the invention relates to a component comprising a base and a runner movable relative to the base for a vehicle, in particular for the interior of a vehicle. For the purposes of the invention, a vehicle is, for example, a land vehicle, an aircraft, or a watercraft. From previous use, vehicle consoles with a storage compartment and a lid that closes an opening of the compartment are known. Such lids can be moved longitudinally, for example, to adjust to the position of an adjacent passenger or to provide access to the storage compartment. The lid contains electrical or electronic components. To supply power to the lid and the electrical components, an excess cable was installed inside the lid. In one end position, the cable formed a tangled mess, while in a second end position, it stretched out. This tangled cable was therefore subject to movement, which, due to kinks that could cause cable breaks, reduced its lifespan. Furthermore, the excess cable gave a poor impression of quality. EP 1 783 874 A1 describes a power supply device for a long carriage. A carriage 6 is movably guided on a housing 2. The carriage 6 is connected to a first cable end. A second cable end is connected to a power supply. The cable is housed in an energy chain 4, which is equipped with teeth. The energy chain 4 comprises a straight upper section, a bending section, and a straight lower section. A gear 7 is rotatably guided in a slot 17 of the housing 2, movably in the longitudinal direction parallel to the carriage 6. The gear 7 engages with both the upper and lower sections of the energy chain 4. Any excess length of the energy chain 4, or of the cable housed within it, resulting from the carriage position, is thus neatly transferred to the lower section of the energy chain. The energy chain in which the cable is housed is costly.This design therefore represents a complex solution. DE 10 2020 205 565 B4 describes a machine tool with a cable guide device. The machine comprises a machining unit that holds the tool and machine axes for positioning the machining unit. The cable guide device includes a first cable guide and a slide guided therein. Furthermore, a first deflection pulley is provided, which is rotatably connected to the slide. A cable pulley connects a first tensioning weight to the first slide. The connecting cable runs over the first deflection pulley and is connected to a terminal on the machine tool. The cable is thus held under tension in a neat loop by the weight. EP 0 282 389 B1 relates to a device for electrically connecting wires. The device comprises a bundle of conductive wires with end connectors, which is held in a holder. A first connector is fixed to the holder, while a second connector protrudes movably from the holder. A loop of the bundle containing a supply of wire is connected to a spring, which is stretched by pulling out the second connector. Additional cable length can thus be drawn from a controlled loop, thereby tensioning the spring. The object of the invention was to provide a component with a runner movable relative to a base and a power supply device for energy and / or data provision, which guides at least one cable, e.g., a power supply cable, in a defined manner so that the cable cannot be damaged by other elements, excessive kinking, or repeated damaging stresses. Furthermore, the object of the invention was to provide a component with a power supply device in which the cable is not subjected to tension weights or springs, but is essentially load-free. Finally, the object of the invention was to provide the aforementioned component with low manufacturing costs. This component is designed for the interior of a vehicle. It comprises a base and a runner, which is movable relative to the base along a path between a first and second position. The runner is guided by primary guide elements on the base and secondary guide elements on the runner. The path of movement can be, for example, straight or curved. The runner can be, for example, an armrest, an armrest pad, or another movable part. The base can be, for example, simply formed by guide elements interacting with the runner's guide elements, or it can be an armrest base, a console, a storage compartment, etc. The component further comprises an energy device with a wheel and a wheel guide comprising a first toothed rail of the base, a second toothed rail of the runner, and a toothed section of the wheel which engages with the first and second toothed rails and is rollable relative to them. When the wheel travels a distance Q on the base-fixed toothed rail, a cover movement of 2Q occurs. Furthermore, the wheel includes a cable guide area which is enclosed by a portion of the cable and which divides the cable into a straight runner-side and a straight base-side cable section. In the context of the invention, the term "straight" does not necessarily mean that the cable must run in a completely straight line, but rather that there are no kinks or loops of excess cable. The cable can, of course, also run in a straight line. The invention has the advantage that the cable of the energy device is guided in a defined manner. In every position of the runner, the cable is held in a stretched position in both the base-side and runner-side cable sections, and both the base-side and runner-side cable sections have a defined length in every position of the runner. The cable's wrap around the wheel has a defined bend designed to prevent cable damage. This eliminates kinks that could cause cable breaks. According to the invention, the cable is not subjected to any stress from weights or springs that could mechanically strain and permanently damage it. The organized cable routing requires less space than a random cable arrangement, thus saving space. Furthermore, the power supply for the cable routing results in low manufacturing effort and costs. The base-side cable section extends, for example, from where the cable is attached to the base to a first contact point with the wheel, and the runner-side cable section extends, for example, from where the cable is attached to the runner to a second contact point with the wheel. The cable is attached to the base and the runner by means of fasteners and is looped around the cable guide area of ​​the wheel. The wheel thus acts as a counter-bearing for the fasteners and prevents the cable from forming loops. Since the wheel moves depending on the relative movement between the runner and the base, the cable is held in a stretched position in both the base-side and runner-side cable sections. The toothed section and the cable guide section of the wheel are, for example, either rotationally fixed to one another or mounted so that they can move relative to each other. If the toothed section and the cable guide section of the wheel are rotationally fixed to one another, both sections rotate at the same speed. If the toothing of the toothed section and the cable guide section of the wheel are designed such that the rotational speed of the wheel corresponds to the length of the cable being moved, no slippage occurs between the cable and the wheel. If this is not the case, slippage occurs between the cable and the wheel. Both variants can be used according to the invention. If the tooth area and the cable guide area are connected in such a way that a relative movement, i.e., a relative rotation of the cable guide area to the driven tooth area, can occur, the cable guide area is indeed moved along with the tooth area, but the rotation of the cable guide area occurs due to the friction between the cable and the cable guide area. In this case, the cable guide area can rotate freely relative to the tooth area. The toothed section and the cable guide are arranged separately or nested within the wheel. Separate cable routing is less complex. The cable cannot collide with the wheel guide and damage it or impair the opening mechanism. This variant is easy to manufacture. For example, the toothed section and the cable guide section are arranged axially spaced apart on the wheel. If, for example, the cable guide section and the toothed section are arranged axially adjacent to each other, the power device can be designed to be compact. The toothed section is formed by teeth that interact with the teeth of the toothed rails. The cable guide section is designed to encircle the cable. A nested cable routing system requires very little installation space. The cable is embedded, for example, in at least one groove of the wheel and / or the toothed rails. The groove might be located only in the teeth of the wheel or only in the teeth of the toothed rails. Alternatively, the groove for the cable could be partially in the wheel and partially in the toothed rails. The cable, for example, does not move or moves only negligibly relative to the wheel. This is the case when the diameter of the wheel's toothed area matches the effective diameter of the cable guide area. If this is not the case, the cable slips relative to the wheel. The base consists, for example, of a storage compartment, and the runner is formed by a lid that moves relative to the storage compartment and closes an opening to the interior of the compartment. The lid also serves as an armrest for a passenger sitting next to the storage compartment. Electronic devices requiring a power supply can be housed in the lid. Items can be placed in the storage compartment, and the opening to the compartment can be closed with the lid. In the event of hard braking or an accident, these items will then not fly uncontrollably around the vehicle interior, potentially injuring the occupants. Alternatively, the runner is, for example, an armrest adjustable to different positions, and the base is a guide for the armrest attached to the vehicle body. In this case, the armrest includes, for example, electrical components that are supplied by the energy device according to the invention. According to the invention, the energy device can be designed such that it has only small dimensions in two spatial directions perpendicular to a direction of movement. The energy device therefore requires little installation space. The power supply unit is, for example, located on one side of the storage compartment. It then extends only slightly into the interior of the storage compartment. The storage volume is therefore only minimally affected by the power supply unit. It thus only minimally impairs the usability of the storage compartment. The wheel moves, for example, parallel to a side wall of the storage compartment. With the same goal of minimizing any restriction on the usability of the storage compartment, the wheel moves parallel to a side wall. The power unit thus protrudes only slightly at a right angle to the side wall. The wheel is, for example, only loosely guided between the first and second toothed rails. This means that the wheel has no bearing axis. To prevent lateral movement of the wheel, which could disengage the teeth of the gear section from the teeth of the toothed rails, cooperating guide elements are provided on the wheel and the toothed rails to prevent lateral movement. The wheel then only has degrees of freedom to move along the toothed rails. These can be, for example, radially extending walls formed on both sides of the tooth area of ​​the wheel, which interact with surfaces formed on both sides of the tooth rails and prevent lateral movement. The energy device includes, for example, at least one cable channel in which the base-side cable section and / or the runner-side cable section is located. The cable then has the freedom to move from the cable channel towards the wheel or from the wheel into the cable channel. The cable channel provides additional protection for the cable. Furthermore, it guides the cable so that it is positioned correctly. For example, the longitudinal axes of the first and second toothed rails can be linear or curved. In the energy device according to the invention, the longitudinal axes of the toothed rails need not be linear. They can, for example, also be curved in the longitudinal direction of the toothed rail, which does not impair the function of the energy device. According to a second aspect, the invention relates to a method for guiding a cable in a component. Since the state of the art does not differ from that of the first aspect of the invention, reference is made to the aforementioned state of the art. The object of the invention was to provide a method for guiding a cable within a component comprising a base and a runner movable relative to the base, wherein the cable, e.g., a power supply cable, is guided in a defined manner so that it cannot be damaged by other elements, excessive kinking, or repeated damaging stresses. Furthermore, the object of the invention was to provide a method in which no load is placed on the cable by means of tension weights or springs; in other words, the cable is essentially load-free. Finally, the object of the invention was to provide the aforementioned method in a cost-effective manner. The problem was solved by a method for guiding a cable with the features of claim 13. The method for guiding a cable relates to a component comprising a base and a runner, wherein the runner is movable relative to the base along a path of movement between a first position and a second position. The cable is, for example, a power supply cable or a data cable, by which connectors of the component are connected to a power supply or a data source. The cable is guided around a cable guide area of ​​a wheel, the wheel having a toothed section. The tooth section engages with at least one first tooth rail of the base and at least one second tooth rail of the runner and rolls along the first and second tooth rails when the runner moves relative to them. When the runner moves in a first direction or an opposite second direction, the cable is assigned to the base-side cable section and the runner-side cable section, with the cable sections (24, 25) being held in an extended position. To avoid repetition, reference is made to the advantages of the first aspect. Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in the following description of the figures, also with reference to the drawings. For the sake of clarity, identical or comparable parts, elements, or areas are designated with the same reference numerals, sometimes with the addition of lowercase letters, even where different embodiments are concerned. Features described only in relation to one embodiment can also be provided in any other embodiment of the invention. Such modified embodiments are included in the invention, even if they are not shown in the drawings. All disclosed features are essential to the invention. The disclosure of this application hereby incorporates in full the disclosure content of the cited publications and the described devices of the prior art, also for the purpose of including one or more features of these documents in one or more claims of the present application. Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a component in the form of a console with a receiving compartment and a sliding lid, with the lid in a first position; Figure 2 shows a perspective view similar to Figure 1, with the lid in a second position; Figure 3 shows a front view of the console in the first position according to view arrow A in Figure 5; Figure 4a shows a sectional view along section line B-B in Figure 5; Figure 4b, similar to Figure 4a, shows an alternative embodiment of the wheel, wherein a toothed section and a cable guide section of the wheel are not axially adjacent but nested within each other; Figure 5 shows a sectional view along section line C-C in Figure 3; Figure 6 shows a sectional view along section line D-D in Figure 3; Figure 7 shows a sectional view along section line E-E in Figure 3; Figure 8 shows a view similar to Figure 5.3, wherein the lid is in a middle position between the first position and the second position, Fig. 9 a sectional view along section line F-F in Fig. 8, Fig. 10 a sectional view along section line G-G in Fig. 8, Fig. 11 a sectional view along section line H-H in Fig. 8, Fig. 12 a sectional view based on Fig. 8, wherein the lid is in the second position, Fig. 13 a sectional view along section line I-I in Fig. 12, Fig. 14 a sectional view along section line J-J in Fig. 12, Fig. 15 a sectional view along section line K-K in Fig. 12. Figure 1 shows a vehicle accessory 10 in the form of a console with a longitudinal center axis m. The accessory 10 comprises a base in the form of a container 11 and a slider in the form of a lid 12. The lid 12 is movable relative to the container 11 between a first position (see Figure 1) and a second position (see Figure 2). The lid 12 also forms an armrest with an armrest surface 37 for a seated occupant. The lid 12 is movably guided on the container 11 by means of a guide device 13. The guide of the lid 12 on the container 11 can be achieved using conventional means. Base-side guide means 14 and lid-side guide means 15 are provided, with which the lid is movable relative to the container 11 in directions x1 and x2 and has degrees of freedom only in directions x1 and x2. Equipment component 10 includes consumers, such as electronic devices, coupling stations for electronic devices, etc., which require an electrical power supply. The power supply unit 16 is provided for this purpose. This unit comprises a cable 17, which is connected to a power source of the vehicle (not shown) and is attached to the container 11 by a container mounting 35 and to the lid 12 by a lid mounting 36, such that a defined length L of cable 17 is formed between the container mounting 35 and the lid mounting 36. To prevent the cable 17 from lying uncontrolled in certain positions of the lid 12, thus avoiding the risk of kinking or damage, the present equipment part 10 has a cable guide 18 with a wheel 19 and a wheel guide 20. The wheel guide 20 comprises a first toothed rail 21 of the container 11 and a second toothed rail 22 of the lid 12. As shown in Figures 3 and 4a, the wheel 19 is provided with a toothed section 26 and a cable guide section 27. In this embodiment, the toothed section 26 and the cable guide section 27 are spaced apart from each other with respect to a direction y (y1 and y2) parallel to an axis of rotation a of the wheel 19, and in this embodiment are arranged side by side. The cable guide section 27 is rotationally fixed to the toothed section 26. The toothing of tooth section 26 engages with the toothing of a toothed rail 21 of the container 11 and with a toothed rail 22 of the lid 12. When the lid 12 is moved in the directions x1 or x2, the wheel 19 is set in rotation by means of the toothed rail 22 and the toothed section 26. According to an alternative embodiment of the energy device 16, shown only in Fig. 4b, the toothed section 26' of the wheel 19 and the cable guide section 27' are nested. In this case, the toothing 42 of the wheel 19 has a groove 43. The first toothed rail 21' has a groove 44 and the second toothed rail 22' has a groove 45. The cable 17 is guided partly in the grooves 43 and 44 and partly in the grooves 43 and 45. From the grooves 43, 44, and 45, it can exit freely into the cable sections 24 and 25. Figure 6 shows that the total length L of the cable 17 is formed by the length I1 of the wrapping section 23, the length l2 of the cable section 24, and the length l3 of the cable section 25. The wrapping section 23 extends between a contact point 30 of the cable 17 with an outer surface 28 of a wheel core 29 of the wheel 19 and a contact point 31 of the cable 17 with the outer surface 28. The cable 17 is attached to the container 11 by a fastening 35 and to the lid 12 by a fastening 36. According to Figure 7, the tooth section 26 of the wheel 19 engages with an end section 38 of the teeth of the first toothed rail 21 and with an end section 39 of the teeth of the second toothed rail 22. According to Fig. 7, the energy device 16 is arranged on a side area 32 of the container 11 on a side wall 33. The cable sections 24 and 25 are located in cable channels 34 according to Fig. 6 and can only move out of these in the direction z (z1 and z2, respectively). If the cover 12 moves, for example, from the first position according to Fig. 5, Fig. 6 to Fig. 7 in the direction x1, the wheel 19 rotates in the direction u1. In doing so, the wheel 19 lays down a length of cable, which becomes free in the cable area 25 due to the movement of the cover 12, in an orderly manner in the cable area 24. The wheel 19 ensures that the cable is held in a straight position in cable sections 24 and 25. Only in the wrap section 23 does the cable 17 lie bent against the outer surface 28 of the wheel core 29. The wrap section 23 always has the same length l1 of cable 17, which lies against the outer surface 28 of the wheel core 29 at an angle of 180°. During the movement of the cover 12 in directions x1 or x2, the cable 17 is assigned to cable sections 24 and 25. According to Figures 8, 9, 10 to 11, the cover 12 is arranged in an intermediate position between the second position and the first position. The wheel 19 is arranged in a central region between both toothed rails 21 and 22 (see Figure 11). In Figure 10, it can be seen that the cable 17 is in an extended position and that the length of the cable 17 is distributed approximately equally between region 24 and region 25. Figures 12, 13, 14 to 15 show the cover in the second position. The wheel 19 is located at an end region 40 of the toothing of the toothed rail 21 and at an end region 41 of the toothing of the toothed rail 22. Both cable sections 24 and 25 are arranged in the extended position. If the cover 12 is moved from the second position in the direction x2, the wheel 19 rotates in the direction u2. In this case, the length l2 of the base-side cable section 24 becomes smaller and the length l3 of the cover-side cable section 25 becomes larger. However, in every position of the cover 12, the cable sections 24 and 25 are in their extended form. Alternatively, the runner 12 could also be guided by the guide elements 14 and 15 on a base 11 of whatever design, forming, for example, an armrest or a movable pad. In this case, the armrest would support the electrical components. The power device 16 could be designed in the same way, with the toothed rail 21 of the wheel guide 20 being formed on the base 11. 10 Equipment part 11 Container 12 Lid 13 Runner guide a, b 14 Base guide 15 Runner guide 16 Energy device 17 Cable 18 Cable guide 19 Wheel 19' 20 Wheel guide 21 First toothed rail 21' 22 Second toothed rail 22' 23 Wrap area 24 Base cable area 25 Runner cable area 26 Toothed area 26' 27 Cable guide area (19) 27' 28 Outer surface (19) 29 Wheel core (19) 30 Contact point (19) 31 Contact point (19) 32 Side area (11) 33 Side wall (11) 34 Cable channel 35 Container mounting (17 / 11) 36 Lid mounting (17 / 12) 37 Armrest surface 38 End area (21) 39 End area (22) 40 End area (21) 41 End area (22) 42 Toothing (19) 2nd execution example 43 Groove (19) 44 Groove (21') 45 Groove (22') a Axis of rotation (19) L Length of cable I1 / 2 / 3 Length of cable sections (23, 24, 25) x, y, z Direction m Longitudinal axis (10) u1 / 2 Direction of rotation (19) QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature EP 1 783 874 A1

[0003] DE 10 2020 205 565 B4

[0004] EP 0 282 389 B1

[0005]

Claims

Interior component of a vehicle comprising a base (11) and a runner (12) which is movable relative to the base (11) on a path of movement between a first position and a second position, with a runner guide (13a, 13b), with first guide means (14) of the base (11) and second guide means (15) of the runner (12), and with an energy device (16) for supplying the runner (12) with electrical energy via a cable (17) and with a cable guide (18) which has a wheel (19) and a wheel guide (20), characterized in that the wheel guide (20) comprises at least a first toothed rail (21) of the base (11) and at least a second toothed rail (22) of the runner (12) and a toothed section (26) of the wheel (19) which is in engagement with the first toothed rail (21) and the second toothed rail (22) and relative to the first toothed rail (21) and the second toothed rail (22). (22) is rollablewherein the wheel (19) comprises a cable guide area (27) which is enclosed by a portion of the cable (17) and wherein the cable (17) can be assigned to a base-side cable area (24) and a runner-side cable area (25) by means of the wheel (19) and the base-side cable area (24) and the runner-side cable area (25) can be maintained in an extended form. Equipment part according to claim 1, characterized in that the base-side cable area (24) extends from a fastening of the cable (17) to the base (11) to a first contact point (30) with the wheel (19) and that the runner-side cable area (25) extends from a fastening of the cable (17) to the runner to a second contact point (31) with the wheel (19). Equipment part according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tooth area (26) and the cable guide area (27) are arranged separately from each other on the wheel (19). Equipment component according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tooth area (26) and the cable guide area (27) of the wheel (19) are connected to each other in a rotationally fixed manner or are mounted so as to be movable relative to each other. Equipment part according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tooth area (26) and the cable guide area (27) are spaced apart from each other or nested on the wheel. Equipment component according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base is formed by a storage compartment (11) and the runner by a lid (12) that is movable relative to the storage compartment. Equipment component according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the energy device (16) is arranged on a side area (32) of the storage compartment (11). Equipment component according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the movement of the wheel (19) is parallel to a side wall (33) of the storage compartment. Equipment component according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wheel (19) is only loosely guided between the first toothed rail (21) and the second toothed rail (22). Equipment component according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one cable section (24, 25) is laid in a cable duct (34). Equipment component according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the longitudinal axes of the first toothed rail (21) and the second toothed rail (22) have a linear or a curved profile. Method for guiding a cable (17) in a component comprising a base (11) and a runner (12), wherein the runner (12) is movable relative to the base (11) on a path of movement between a first position and a second position, characterized in that the cable (17) is guided around a cable guide area (27) of a wheel (19) which has a toothed area which engages with at least a first toothed rail (21) of the base (11) and at least a second toothed rail (22) of the runner (12) and rolls when the runner moves relative to the first toothed rail (21) and the second toothed rail (22), such that the cable (17) is assigned to a base-side cable area (24) and a runner-side cable area (25) and the cable areas (24, 25) are held in an extended position.

Images