MOTORIZED OBJECT SUPPORT DEVICE WITH TWO DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, FOR A VEHICLE

Abstract

A support device (SD) is fitted to a vehicle interior component and comprises: - a receiving part (RP) to which an object (O) is attached and which includes a rear face (FR1) to which a rod (TR) fitted with a ball (B) is fixedly attached, and - an interface part (IP) fixedly attached to the component, on which the ball (B) is rotatably mounted via a ball joint, and through which two screws (V1-V2) pass, each having a first end (E11, E12) coupled to this rear face (FR1) and a second end designed to be driven in rotation by an associated electric motor to cause rotation of the receiving part (RP) around an associated direction. Figure 2

Description

Title of the invention: MOTORIZED OBJECT SUPPORT DEVICE WITH TWO DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, FOR A VEHICLE Technical field of the invention

[0001] The invention relates to support devices intended to be fitted to vehicle interiors and to which objects can be attached. State of the art

[0002] Certain vehicles, possibly of the automobile type, may include in their passenger compartment a support device to which an object that may be carried by a user is attached. By way of illustration, when the vehicle includes a dashboard, the latter may serve as an anchor point for a support device to which a display screen is permanently attached, or a mobile phone or a navigation aid device is temporarily attached.

[0003] Known support devices can be of various types and can allow for multiple or specific orientations. For example, they can comprise a receiving piece that is rotatably mounted on a ball fixed to the end of a rod that is permanently attached to a piece of vehicle equipment. However, such an arrangement proves unsuitable for supporting a relatively heavy and bulky object, such as a display screen, and only allows for manual orientation by a user acting on the object.

[0004] Alternatively, they may comprise two pairs of connecting rods, right and left, rotatably mounted on a piece of equipment on the vehicle at different heights, and to which is rotatably coupled a receiving piece adapted to receive an object to be held. This variant allows the receiving piece to be integrated, possibly completely, into a housing on the equipment when not in use, or to be extracted from this housing and raised when it needs to be used. A primary drawback of this variant lies in the fact that its receiving piece cannot be oriented spatially relative to the equipment due to its coupling by the connecting rods.Therefore, when the object being supported includes a display screen, such as a mobile phone (possibly a smartphone), it becomes difficult for a user not directly in front of it to see what is displayed on the screen. Consequently, interactions with the screen can be dangerous when performed by the vehicle driver. A second drawback of this design is that once the support device is deployed, its two pairs of connecting rods are... visible and therefore unsightly, and an accidental blow to the receiving piece can bend the connecting rods and render them at least partially unusable.

[0005] The invention therefore aims in particular to improve the situation. Presentation of the invention

[0006] In particular, it proposes for this purpose a support device suitable for equipping equipment in a vehicle interior and comprising a receiving piece to which an object can be attached.

[0007] This support device is characterized by the fact that:

[0008] - that its receiving piece comprises a rear face to which is attached fixed a rod fitted with a ball, and

[0009] - that it further comprises an interface piece suitable for being fixedly attached to the equipment, on which the ball is mounted in rotation in a ball joint connection, and through which are passed two screws each having a first end coupled to the rear face of the receiving piece and a second end suitable for being driven in rotation by an associated electric motor to cause a rotation of the receiving piece around an associated direction.

[0010] Thanks to this rotational coupling of the receiving part with respect to the interface part, the receiving part is constrained to be driven in rotation only in the first and second directions during the respective tightening of the first and second screws caused by the first and second associated electric motors, which advantageously allows it to be oriented simply and easily in space.

[0011] The support device according to the invention may include other features which may be taken separately or in combination, and in particular:

[0012] - it may include a first screw installed in a first plane containing an axial direction of the rod and designed to cause a rotation of the receiving part around a first direction perpendicular to this first plane, and a second screw installed in a second plane, containing this axial direction of the rod and perpendicular to the first plane, and designed to cause a rotation of the receiving part around a second direction perpendicular to this second plane and to this first direction;

[0013] - in the presence of the first option, the second direction may be intended to be parallel to a vertical direction of the vehicle, and the first direction may be intended to be parallel to a transverse direction of the vehicle;

[0014] - in the presence of the last sub-option, the first plan may be intended to be parallel to a plane containing the vertical direction of the vehicle and a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and the second plane may be intended to be parallel to a plane containing the transverse and longitudinal directions of the vehicle;

[0015] - its interface piece may include a substantially hemispherical housing opening onto a front face oriented towards the rear face of the receiving piece and in which the ball is mounted for rotation;

[0016] - its interface piece can be adapted to be fixedly attached to the equipment by at least two fixing screws;

[0017] - its receiving piece can be adapted to be fixedly attached to the object by the minus two fixing screws.

[0018] The invention also proposes a vehicle, possibly of the automobile type, and comprising a passenger compartment including at least one piece of equipment including at least one support device of the type presented above.

[0019] For example, this equipment could be a dashboard.

[0020] Also, for example, this vehicle may also include an object having a rear face fixedly attached to the receiving part of the support device. As an example, this object may be a display screen. Brief description of the figures

[0021] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from an examination of the detailed description below, and the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0022] [Fig. 1] schematically and functionally illustrates, in a front view from the passenger compartment side, a part of an example of a motor vehicle passenger compartment comprising an example of equipment constituting a dashboard and including a support device according to the invention to which an object is attached, and

[0023] [Fig.2] schematically illustrates, in a perspective view from the rear side, part of an example of an embodiment of a support device according to the invention, to which a display screen is fixedly attached, and an insert comprising a magnified part of this support device. Detailed description of the invention

[0024] The invention aims in particular to provide a support device DS intended to equip an EV equipment of a passenger compartment H of a vehicle V, and comprising a receiving piece PR to which an object O is suitable for being attached and allowing motorized orientation of the latter (O) along two different directions (possibly perpendicular).

[0025] In what follows, vehicle V is considered, by way of non-limiting example, to be of the automobile type. This is, for example, a car, as illustrated, non-limitingly and partially, in [Fig. 1]. But the EV equipment can be part of any vehicle interior, and in particular the interior of a land vehicle, a boat, or an aircraft.

[0026] Furthermore, given the preceding choices, the following will be considered, by way of non-limiting example, as an EV equipment, a dashboard. However, within a vehicle's interior, EV equipment could also be a console, a seat (or bench) backrest, or a side door trim, for example.

[0027] In figures 1 and 2, the direction X is the longitudinal direction of the vehicle V, which is substantially parallel to the lateral (or longitudinal) sides comprising the side doors, the direction Y is the transverse direction of the vehicle V, which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X, and the direction Z is the vertical direction of the vehicle V, which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X and the transverse direction Y.

[0028] In the preceding and following text, the terms "front" and "rear" are defined with respect to the occupants (here intended to be seated in the front seats in the passenger compartment H of the vehicle V). Consequently, the front face of an element is oriented towards the occupants (and therefore here towards the interior of the passenger compartment H), while the rear face of this element is oriented towards the front (engine) compartment of the vehicle V and opposite to the front face.

[0029] Figure 1 schematically illustrates a portion of a vehicle passenger compartment H of a vehicle V (here, a car) comprising equipment EV (here, a dashboard) with a support device DS according to the invention. It should be noted that in this illustrative example, the support device DS is fixedly attached within an internal (non-visible) housing of the equipment EV (here, a dashboard) and extends slightly beyond the front face FV1 of the equipment EV so that the object O attached to it (DS) can be used by the front passengers seated in the front seats. In this arrangement, the object O therefore has a front face FV3 that is oriented towards the front seats.

[0030] It should be noted that the object O can be coupled to the support device DS either permanently or temporarily. In the first case, it could, for example, be a display screen that is part of a vehicle display device V or a display device with a display screen (such as a central instrument cluster). In the second case, it could, for example, be a mobile phone (possibly a smartphone) or a tablet computer, or a navigation aid device.

[0031] Furthermore, it should be noted that in the example illustrated, but not limited to, in [Fig. 1], the dashboard EV includes only one support device DS approximately centered on the median plane of the passenger compartment H of the vehicle V. But the dashboard EV could include several (at least two) support devices DS.

[0032] As illustrated at least partially in [Fig.2], a support device DS, according to the invention, comprises at least one receiving piece PR to which an object O is suitable for being attached, an interface piece PI suitable for being fixedly attached to an EV piece of equipment (here a dashboard), and two electric motors (not illustrated).

[0033] The receiving piece PR comprises a front face to which the face of an object O is attached (for example, at its rear face FR2). Furthermore, the receiving piece PR comprises a rear face FRI, opposite its front face (and therefore intended to be oriented towards the EV equipment), to which a rod TR fitted with a ball B is fixedly attached. It should be noted that this rod TR may be very short in order to be as inconspicuous as possible, as illustrated in the circled inset of [Fig. 2]. However, its length can be adapted to the requirements, and in particular here to the shape of the area of ​​the EV equipment where it is to be installed and / or to the dimensions of the object O to be attached to the receiving piece PR.

[0034] It should be noted that the ball B preferably has at least a semi-spherical shape, as illustrated in the circled inset of [Fig.2]. But other slightly less spherical shapes (and for example ovoid or ogive) can be used.

[0035] The ball B is rotatably mounted in a ball joint on the interface piece PL. Furthermore, the interface piece PI is traversed by two adjusting screws Vj (j = 1 or 2), each having a first Elj and a second end. The interface piece PI therefore comprises two through holes, each with an internal thread allowing the associated screw Vj to be tightened / loosened.

[0036] Each first end Elj of an adjusting screw Vj is coupled to the rear face FRI of the receiving part PR, for example at a dedicated orifice in which it rotates freely (without translation). Each second end of an adjusting screw Vj is designed to be driven into rotation by an associated electric motor to cause the receiving part PR to rotate around an associated direction.

[0037] It will be understood that the rotation of the first screw V1 (j = 1), relative to the interface piece PI and by the first electric motor, causes a rotation of the receiving piece PR around a first associated direction, and the rotation of the second screw V2 (j = 2), relative to the interface piece PI and by the second electric motor, causes a rotation of the receiving piece PR around a second associated direction, different from the first direction and preferably perpendicular to the latter.

[0038] It is the rotational coupling (ball joint) of the receiving part PR with respect to the interface part PI, via the ball B, which advantageously constrains the receiving part PR to be driven in rotation only in the first and second directions during the respective tightening of the first VI and second V2 screws. by the first and second electric motors. This advantageously allows the receiving part PR (and therefore also the object O which is attached to it (PR)) to be oriented simply and easily in space.

[0039] It should be noted that the first and second electric motors are fixedly attached to the EV equipment in a housing where they are invisible, because they are located behind the PI interface piece which is also fixedly attached to the EV equipment.

[0040] Furthermore, these first and second electric motors are controlled by at least one control element OC which is manually operable (here) by the front passengers of the vehicle V. In the case of a single control element OC (as illustrated in [Fig. 1]), it could be a joystick, for example. In the case of independent first and second control elements, it could be two buttons with two action zones dedicated respectively to two different directions of movement in the same direction. Each control element OC could, for example, be installed on the front face FV1 of the equipment below the support device DS (and therefore of the object O), as illustrated in [Fig. 1].

[0041] For example, and as illustrated, but not limited to, in [Fig. 2], the first screw VI can be installed along a first axis al in a first plane containing the axial direction AT of the rod TR, and in this case, it is suitable for causing a rotation of the receiving part PR about a first direction that is perpendicular to this first plane. The first axis al is therefore parallel to the axial direction AT of the rod TR. Similarly, the second screw V2 can be installed along a second axis a2 in a second plane containing the axial direction AT of the rod TR and perpendicular to the first plane, and in this case, it is suitable for causing a rotation of the receiving part PR about a second direction that is perpendicular to both the second plane and the first direction. The second axis a2 is therefore parallel to the axial direction AT of the rod TR.

[0042] Also, for example, and as illustrated non-limitingly in [Fig.2], the second direction may be intended to be parallel to the vertical direction Z, and the first direction may be intended to be parallel to the transverse direction Y. Such an arrangement allows control of the orientation of the receiving piece PR up or down and to the right or left.

[0043] Also, for example, and as illustrated non-limitingly in [Fig.2], the first plane may be intended to be parallel to a plane XZ containing the vertical direction Z and longitudinal direction X, and the second plane may be intended to be parallel to a plane XY containing the transverse direction Y and longitudinal direction X.

[0044] Also, for example, and as illustrated non-limitingly in [Fig. 2], the interface piece PI may include a substantially hemispherical housing LB, opening onto its front face FV2, oriented towards the rear face FRI of the piece receiving part PR, and in which the ball B is rotatably mounted. The expression "substantially semi-spherical" here means perfectly semi-spherical or almost semi-spherical. For example, the material of which the interface part PI is made may be slightly flexible to allow the ball B (with rotational capability) to be press-fitted into its housing LB. But in an alternative embodiment (not shown), the housing LB could be defined in a dedicated part fixedly attached to the front face FV2 of the interface part PL

[0045] Also, for example, and although this is not shown in [Fig. 2], the interface piece PI can be designed to be fixed to the EV equipment by at least two fixing screws. Preferably, three or four fixing screws will be used to ensure high-precision anchoring and / or when the supported object O is relatively heavy.

[0046] Also, for example, and although not shown in [Fig. 2], the receiving piece PR can be fixed to the object O by at least two fixing screws. Preferably, three, or even four, fixing screws are used to ensure high-precision fastening and / or when the supported object O is relatively heavy. However, in an alternative embodiment, the coupling between the receiving piece PR and the object O could be achieved by gluing or clipping. Clipping is particularly advantageous when the object O is transportable by a user of the vehicle V, and is therefore temporarily and not permanently coupled to the support device DS.

[0047] It should also be noted that the TR rod can be attached, for example by gluing or welding, to the rear face FRI of the receiving part PR, or can be an integral part of the receiving part PR, in particular when the latter (PR) is made by molding.

Claims

Demands

1. Support device (DS) suitable for equipping equipment (EV) of a vehicle (V) interior (H) and comprising a receiving piece (PR) to which an object (0) is suitable for being attached, characterized in that said receiving piece (PR) comprises a rear face (FRI) to which a rod (TR) equipped with a ball (B) is fixedly attached, and in that it further comprises an interface piece (PI) suitable for being fixedly attached to said equipment (EV), on which said ball (B) is rotationally mounted in a ball joint connection, and through which are passed two screws (Vj) each having a first end (Elj) coupled to said rear face (FRI) and a second end suitable for being driven in rotation by an associated electric motor to cause a rotation of said receiving piece (PR) around an associated direction.

2. Support device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a first screw (VI) installed in a first plane containing an axial direction of said rod (TR) and adapted to cause a rotation of said receiving piece (PR) around a first direction perpendicular to said first plane, and a second screw (V2) installed in a second plane, containing said axial direction of the rod (TR) and perpendicular to said first plane, and adapted to cause a rotation of said receiving piece (PR) around a second direction perpendicular to said second plane and to said first direction.

3. Support device according to claim 2, characterized in that said second direction is intended to be parallel to a vertical direction of said vehicle (V), and said first direction is intended to be parallel to a transverse direction of said vehicle (V).

4. Support device according to claim 3, characterized in that said first plane is intended to be parallel to a plane containing said vertical direction of the vehicle (V) and a longitudinal direction of said vehicle (V), and said second plane is intended to be parallel to a plane containing said transverse and longitudinal directions of the vehicle (V).

5. Support device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said interface piece (PI) comprises a substantially hemispherical housing (LB) opening onto a front face (FV2) oriented towards said rear face (FRI) of said receiving piece (PR) and in which said ball (B) is mounted for rotation.

6. Support device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said interface piece (PI) is suitable for being fixedly attached to said equipment (EV) by at least two fixing screws.

7. Support device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said receiving piece (PR) is suitable for being fixedly attached to said object (0) by at least two fixing screws.

8. Vehicle (V) comprising a passenger compartment (H), characterized in that said passenger compartment (H) comprises at least one piece of equipment (EV) comprising at least one support device (DS) according to one of the preceding claims.

9. Vehicle according to claim 8, characterized in that it further comprises an object (0) having a rear face (FR2) fixedly attached to said receiving piece (PR) of the support device (DS).

10. Vehicle according to claim 9, characterized in that said object (0) is a display screen.

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