Vehicle storage device with a pivoting lid with a safety mechanism against unintentional opening in the event of impact

Abstract

The invention relates to a vehicle storage device comprising a cover (20) pivotally mounted about a first transverse axis on a housing (10) between open and closed positions, first elastic means biasing said cover towards said open position, a double-thrust mechanism capable of locking said cover in the closed position, as well as a safety mechanism comprising a pendulum (36) pivotally mounted about a second transverse axis (C) on said housing and comprising a locking member (38) provided to cooperate in abutment with an element (39) of said cover when said housing is subjected to acceleration in a longitudinal direction so as to prevent unintentional opening of said cover, said safety mechanism also comprising second elastic means (40) biasing said pendulum towards a rest position in which it rests against a first stop (42) provided on said housing.Figure to be published with the abstract: Fig. 4.

Description

Title of the invention: Storage device with a pivoting lid for a vehicle provided with a safety mechanism against unintentional opening in the event of impact Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates generally to storage devices, in particular for central consoles of motor vehicles, comprising a housing provided with a cover pivotally mounted on this housing between an open position giving access to a storage cavity and a closed position preventing access to said cavity, as well as a double push mechanism capable of locking said cover in the closed position.

[0002] The invention relates in particular to such a storage device provided with a mechanism for preventing unintentional opening in the event of impact. Prior art

[0003] Such a double push mechanism (commonly referred to as "push push") typically comprises a heart-shaped cam with a catch zone and a follower finger arranged respectively on the cover and on the housing or vice versa.

[0004] In the closed position of the cover, the finger is held against the hooking zone of the cam by means of a spring acting at the level of the axis of rotation of the shutter.

[0005] A first push exerted on the cover by the user causes the follower finger to be released from the cam attachment zone and the cover to open under the action of the spring.

[0006] From this open position, a second push on the cover to a position slightly beyond its closed position causes the follower finger to move and once again lock in the catch zone of the cam, so as to ensure the locking of this cover in its closed position.

[0007] However, in the event of a collision, the acceleration forces experienced by the vehicle may cause the cover to accidentally unlock and open under the action of the spring.

[0008] French patent application FR 3 077 836 A1 filed by the applicant discloses a storage device for a central console of a motor vehicle comprising a cover pivotally mounted around a first transverse axis on a housing between an open position giving access to a storage cavity and a closed position preventing access to said cavity, as well as first elastic return means urging said cover towards said open position.

[0009] The device also comprises a double-thrust mechanism capable of locking said cover in the closed position, as well as a safety mechanism comprising a pendulum pivotally mounted about a second transverse axis on a side wall of the housing and being provided with a weight capable of driving by inertia the movement of said pendulum when said housing undergoes acceleration in a longitudinal direction.

[0010] The pendulum comprises a locking member provided to cooperate in abutment with an element of said cover when said housing is subjected to said longitudinal acceleration so as to prevent the unintentional opening of said cover.

[0011] The safety mechanism also comprises a stop projecting from said side wall of the housing and against which the pendulum rests in the absence of external stresses exerted on this housing.

[0012] Such a safety mechanism proves to be particularly effective in preventing unintentional opening of the storage device.

[0013] However, in use, this type of device generates numerous parasitic noises caused by relative micro-displacements between the stop and the pendulum during the rolling phases of the vehicle. Statement of the invention

[0014] The present invention therefore aims to improve the situation.

[0015] To this end, it proposes a storage device for a motor vehicle comprising a cover pivotally mounted about a first transverse axis on a housing between an open position giving access to a storage cavity and a closed position preventing access to said cavity, first elastic return means urging said cover towards said open position, a double-thrust mechanism capable of locking said cover in the closed position, as well as a safety mechanism comprising a pendulum pivotally mounted about a second transverse axis on said housing and being provided with a weight capable of driving by inertia the movement of said pendulum when said housing undergoes acceleration in a longitudinal direction,said pendulum comprising a locking member provided to cooperate in abutment with an element of said cover when said housing is subjected to said longitudinal acceleration so as to prevent the unintentional opening of said cover; characterized in that said safety mechanism also comprises second elastic return means urging said pendulum towards a rest position in which it rests against a first stop provided on said housing.

[0016] Thanks to the presence of these second elastic return means, the storage device according to the invention makes it possible to avoid micro-displacements of the pendulum during the rolling phases of the vehicle which are sources of parasitic noise.

[0017] According to preferred characteristics of said storage device according to the invention: - said second elastic return means comprise at least one elastically deformable tongue connected by one of its ends to said housing and the second free end of which rests against a support surface provided on said pendulum; - said tab is molded from a single piece of plastic material with an element of said housing; - said second elastic return means comprise a clothespin type torsion spring mounted on said second transverse axis; - said locking member is constituted by a hook whose free end is designed to cooperate in abutment with the upper face of a tab provided on said cover to prevent its unintentional unlocking when said housing is subjected to said longitudinal acceleration; - said safety mechanism further comprises a second stop also provided on said housing and arranged so as to limit the pivoting travel of said pendulum when said housing is subjected to said longitudinal acceleration; - said pendulum is centered with respect to the median vertical longitudinal plane of said housing; - said cover comprises a main wall and two side cheeks by means of which it is pivotally mounted on said housing, said double thrust mechanism comprising a connecting rod pivotally mounted on one side of said housing around a third transverse axis, said connecting rod carrying a follower finger capable of circulating along a cam path arranged on one of said cheeks and surrounding a substantially heart-shaped cam provided at one of its longitudinal ends with a concave hooking zone; and / or - said cover comprises a guide comb having a crenellated profile consisting of a plurality of notches separated by rectangular notches, said notches being nested in circular arc-shaped guide tracks arranged on said housing outside said storage cavity and centered on said first transverse pivot axis of the cover.

[0018] The invention also aims, in a second aspect, at a central console of a motor vehicle comprising at least one such storage device. Brief description of the drawings

[0019] The description of the invention will now be continued by the detailed description of several exemplary embodiments, given below for illustrative but non-limiting purposes, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

[0020] [Fig-1] represents a perspective view of a console storage device motor vehicle control unit according to the invention provided with a safety mechanism against unintentional opening of the cover in the event of an impact;

[0021] [Fig.2] is a perspective view of the storage device according to the invention under another angle;

[0022] [Fig.3] represents a sectional view along a vertical longitudinal plane of the device storage according to the invention;

[0023] [Fig.4] is a partial perspective sectional view of the front part of the device storage according to the invention showing the pendulum of the safety mechanism against unintentional opening of the cover in the rest position; and

[0024] [Fig.5] is a view similar to [Fig.4] but illustrating the operation of the safety mechanism against unintentional opening of the cover when the housing undergoes forward longitudinal acceleration. Description of the embodiments

[0025] Figures 1 and 2 represent a storage device 1 intended to be integrated into a central console (not shown) of a motor vehicle.

[0026] A direct orthogonal reference frame XYZ is defined with respect to the vehicle, comprising three axes perpendicular two by two, namely: - a horizontal longitudinal axis X, parallel to the ground and oriented in the general direction of movement of the vehicle; - a horizontal transverse axis Y, also parallel to the ground and perpendicular to the X axis; and - a vertical Z axis, perpendicular to the ground as well as to the horizontal XY plane.

[0027] In the description which follows and by convention, the terms “front”, “rear”, “lower”, “upper”, and “lateral” will be taken in relation to a motor vehicle in normal rolling position.

[0028] The terms “external” and “internal” will be used to define the relative position of an element with reference to the median longitudinal plane of the storage device 1. The element closest to this plane will thus be described as internal as opposed to the other element further away from this same plane which will be described as external.

[0029] The storage device 1 comprises a housing 10 comprising a main body 11 defining a storage cavity delimited by a front wall 12, a rear wall 13, two side walls 14, 15 and a bottom wall 16.

[0030] Equipped on the top with an access opening not visible in the figures and allowing users to introduce all kinds of objects into this cavity such as for example bottles or cans, the body 11 also comprises a rim external peripheral 17 bordering the upper edges of the front 12, rear 13 and side walls 14, 15.

[0031] The housing 10 also comprises a trim frame 18 fixedly mounted by snap-fastening on the external peripheral rim 17, as well as a curved guide panel 19 extending in front of the front wall 12 of the body 11 to which it is rigidly fixed by snap-fastening.

[0032] In addition to the housing 10, the storage device 1 comprises a cover 20 comprising a main wall 21 having a substantially rectangular shape complementary to that of the access opening, as well as two lateral cheeks 22, 23 extending vertically downwards from the two lateral edges of this main wall 21 and from the external side of the lateral walls 14, 15 of the housing 10.

[0033] Each of these side cheeks 22, 23 is pivotally mounted around a respective transverse shaft 24, 25 of axis A extending from the outer face of a corresponding side wall 14, 15 of the housing 10.

[0034] The cover 20 is thus able to pivot with respect to the housing 10 around this transverse axis A between a closed position in which its main wall 21 completely closes the access opening of this housing 10 so as to block access to the storage cavity, and an open position (not shown) where this main wall 21 extends substantially perpendicular to this same opening so as to allow access to this storage cavity.

[0035] Elastic return means 26 permanently urge the cover 20 towards its open position. As illustrated in Figures 1 and 3, these return means are here constituted by a clothespin type torsion spring 26 comprising a helical portion 26A mounted on the shaft 24 as well as two radial branches 26B angularly spaced and extending at the two ends of this helical portion 26A while being attached respectively to the side wall 14 of the housing 10 and to the side cheek 22 of the cover 20 (only the radial branch 26B attached to this cheek 22 being visible in [Fig. 3]).

[0036] As illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, the cover 20 also includes a guide comb 27 taking root along the front edge of the lower face of its main wall 21 and projecting at the front of the latter.

[0037] The front end of this guide comb 27 has a crenellated profile consisting of a plurality of crenellations 28 separated by rectangular notches 29.

[0038] These notches 28 are nested in circular arc-shaped guide tracks 30 arranged in the front part of the housing 10 in front of the storage cavity and centered on the pivot axis A of the cover 20.

[0039] More precisely and as illustrated in [Fig.5], these guide tracks 30 extend from the front edge 17A of the external peripheral rim 17 of the housing 10 and extend along the guide panel 19.

[0040] When the cover 20 pivots between its open and closed positions, the notches 28 of the comb 27 circulate along the tracks 30 so as to limit the transverse micro-displacements of this cover 20 which generate parasitic noise and to avoid any risk of this cover 20 being blocked by buttressing with respect to the housing 10.

[0041] The storage device 1 also comprises a double push mechanism (commonly referred to as “push push”) comprising a connecting rod 31 (visible in [Fig. 2]) extending from the external side of the side wall 14 of the housing 10 and the rear end of which is pivotally mounted on this housing 10 around a transverse axis B.

[0042] As illustrated in [Fig. 3], the front end of the connecting rod 31 carries a follower finger 32 oriented transversely and capable of circulating along a cam path 33 formed in a hollow on the internal face of the lateral cheek 22 of the cover 20.

[0043] This cam path 33 surrounds a substantially heart-shaped cam 34 provided at its front end with a concave attachment zone.

[0044] The cam path 33 further comprises at its front end a guide nose 35 formed by a ramp sloping downwards and backwards to a substantially horizontal stop shoulder (these directional indications being given for the closed position of the cover 20).

[0045] In the locked position of closure of the cover 20 and as illustrated in [Fig. 3], the rear end of the follower finger 32 is held against the hooking zone of the cam 34 by the elastic return force generated by the spring 26.

[0046] A first push P exerted on the top of the rear end of the cover 20 by the user causes the follower finger 32 to be released from this area of attachment of the cam 34 and the sliding of its beveled front end against the ramp of the nose 35, causing a slight pivoting of the connecting rod 31 and the upward movement of its follower finger 32.

[0047] As soon as the thrust force ceases, the cover 20 opens under the action of the spring 26 (the follower finger 32 then circulating along the upper edge of the cam path 33 passing above the heart cam 34).

[0048] From this open position, a second push on the top of the rear end of the cover 20 to a position slightly beyond the closed position causes the follower finger 32 to move along the lower edge of the cam path 33, passing below the heart cam 34 until it comes into abutment against the shoulder of the nose 35.

[0049] As soon as the pushing force ceases, the cover 20 pivots slightly to its closed position where the rear end of the follower finger 32 comes to lock again in the hooking zone of the heart cam 34 and locks this cover 20 in this closed position.

[0050] The storage device 1 further comprises a safety mechanism against unintentional opening of the cover 20 when the housing 10 undergoes a forward-oriented longitudinal acceleration, for example during a rear-end collision.

[0051] Indeed, when the housing 10 is subjected to such an acceleration while the cover 20 occupies its closed position, the inertia of the latter can cause it to pivot against the return force of the spring 26 and the disengagement of the follower finger 32 from the hooking zone of the cam 34, so as to cause the unintentional opening of the cover 20.

[0052] With reference to Figures 1, 4 and 5, the safety mechanism comprises a pendulum 36 pivotally mounted about a transverse axis C on the upper part of the guide panel 19 of the housing 10.

[0053] Advantageously made from a single-piece molding from a thermoplastic material, this pendulum 36 is provided with a weight 37 arranged in its upper part located above its pivot axis C.

[0054] The pendulum 36 also comprises an L-shaped locking hook 38 arranged above the pivot axis C of this pendulum 36 and the free end of which is designed to cooperate in abutment with the upper face of a tab 39 provided on the guide comb 27 of the cover 20 (between two notches 29 and replacing a notch 28) to prevent its unintentional unlocking when the housing 10 undergoes a longitudinal acceleration towards the front, as will be explained in detail below.

[0055] In order to avoid any risk of the cover 20 buckling, it will be noted that the pendulum 36 is advantageously centered with respect to the median vertical longitudinal plane of the device 1.

[0056] The safety mechanism also comprises elastic return means 40 which permanently urge the pendulum 36 towards a rest position illustrated by [Fig.4] and in which a protruding lug 41 at the rear of the upper part of this pendulum 36 rests against a first stop 42 provided on the guide panel 19 of the housing 10.

[0057] These elastic return means comprise in this case at least one elastically deformable tongue 40 connected by one of its ends to the guide panel 19 and the second free end of which rests against a bearing surface 43 provided on the pendulum 36 near its pivot axis C.

[0058] The tab 40 is advantageously molded as a single piece of plastic material with the guide panel 19 of the housing 10.

[0059] Alternatively, these elastic return means may be different and for example constituted by a clothes peg type torsion spring mounted on the pivot axis C.

[0060] The presence of these elastic return means makes it possible to avoid the generation of parasitic noise caused by relative micro-displacements between the stop 42 and the pendulum 36 during the rolling phases of the vehicle.

[0061] The restoring force of these second elastic means will of course be adapted so that it does not oppose the pivoting of the pendulum when the housing undergoes a sufficiently significant longitudinal acceleration towards the front, in particular in the event of a rear-end collision.

[0062] Advantageously, the safety mechanism further comprises a second stop 44 also provided on the guide panel 19 of the housing 10 and arranged so as to limit the pivoting travel of the pendulum 36 when such a longitudinal acceleration occurs in order to prevent the locking hook 38 from being able to exert a longitudinal thrust force on the tab 39 of the cover 20.

[0063] We will now describe the operation of the prevention system with reference to [Fig.5].

[0064] When the housing 10 of the storage device 1 undergoes a longitudinal acceleration towards the front while the cover 20 is locked in its closed position, the inertia of the weight 37 of the pendulum 36 causes its upper part to pivot towards the rear.

[0065] The free end of its locking hook 38 is then positioned just above the tab 39 provided on the guide comb 27 of the cover 20, so as to prevent the latter from pivoting backwards against the return force of the spring 26 and from unlocking.

[0066] It will be noted on this occasion that in the case where the housing 10 undergoes a longitudinal acceleration oriented towards the rear, for example during a collision from the front, the cover also remains locked in the closed position by the blocking at the stop of the follower finger 32 in the attachment zone of the heart cam 34.

[0067] According to embodiment variants not shown, the double thrust mechanism can for example be configured differently.

[0068] Generally speaking, it is recalled that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown, but that it encompasses any variant execution within the reach of those skilled in the art.

Claims

Claims

1. Storage device (1) for a motor vehicle comprising a cover (20) pivotally mounted about a first transverse axis (A) on a housing (10) between an open position giving access to a storage cavity and a closed position preventing access to said cavity, first elastic return means (26) urging said cover (20) towards said open position, a double-thrust mechanism capable of locking said cover (20) in the closed position, as well as a safety mechanism comprising a pendulum (36) pivotally mounted about a second transverse axis (C) on said housing (10) and being provided with a weight (37) capable of driving by inertia the movement of said pendulum (36) when said housing (10) undergoes an acceleration in a longitudinal direction,said pendulum (36) comprising a locking member (38) provided to cooperate in abutment with an element (39) of said cover (20) when said housing (10) is subjected to said longitudinal acceleration so as to prevent the unintentional opening of said cover (20); characterized in that said safety mechanism also comprises second elastic return means (40) urging said pendulum (36) towards a rest position in which it rests against a first stop (42) provided on said housing (10), said second elastic return means comprising at least one elastically deformable tab (40) connected by one of its ends to said housing (10) and the second free end of which rests against a bearing surface (43) provided on said pendulum (36), said tab (40) being molded in a single piece of plastic material with an element (19) of said housing (10).

2. Storage device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said second elastic return means comprise a clothes peg type torsion spring mounted on said second transverse axis (C).

3. Storage device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that said locking member is constituted by a hook (38) whose free end is designed to cooperate in abutment with the upper face of a tab (39) provided on said cover. (20) to prevent its unintentional unlocking when said housing (10) is subjected to said longitudinal acceleration.

4. Storage device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said safety mechanism further comprises a second stop (44) also provided on said housing (10) and arranged so as to limit the pivoting travel of said pendulum (36) when said housing (10) is subjected to said longitudinal acceleration.

5. Storage device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said pendulum (36) is centered with respect to the median vertical longitudinal plane of said housing (10).

6. Storage device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said cover (20) comprises a main wall (21) and two lateral cheeks (22, 23) by means of which it is pivotally mounted on said housing (10), said double thrust mechanism comprising a connecting rod (31) pivotally mounted on one side of said housing (10) around a third transverse axis (B), said connecting rod (31) carrying a follower finger (32) capable of circulating along a cam path (33) provided on one (22) of said cheeks (22, 23) and surrounding a substantially heart-shaped cam (34) provided at one of its longitudinal ends with a concave hooking zone.

7. Storage device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said cover (20) comprises a guide comb (27) having a crenellated profile consisting of a plurality of crenellations (28) separated by rectangular notches (29), said crenellations (28) being nested in arcuate guide tracks (30) arranged on said housing (10) outside said storage cavity and centered on said first transverse pivot axis (A) of the cover (20).

8. Central console of a motor vehicle, characterized in that it comprises at least one storage device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7.

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