EP0088699B1 - Key holder of the type of a key retracting in a case - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a key holder of the type comprising a retractable key in a housing provided with an opening through which the functional body of the key is capable of coming out to allow its use.

Some motor vehicles are today equipped with a door unlocking control device comprising an infrared wave emitter available to the vehicle user and a receiver mounted on the vehicle. However, in case of failure of the control device, it is necessary that the user has at his disposal a key for controlling, in a conventional manner, unlocking the doors. So far, this key is connected to the transmitter housing by a ring, the body of the housing constituting a key holder for this key and for example the vehicle ignition key. In order to reduce the size of this key-box assembly of the transmitter, it appeared desirable to be able to retract the emergency key inside the box of the transmitter.

Known from US Patent 2,560,595 is a key holder comprising a retractable key in a housing provided with an opening through which the body of the key is capable of coming out, one end of the key being mounted on an axis around which it is capable of pivoting at a determined angle to exit said housing, the key holder comprising elastic means urging the key to cause the key to pivot about its axis towards a surface for positioning the key, blocking means making it possible to retain the key inside the case by opposing the action of the elastic means, and manual control means making it possible to act on the locking means.

The key holder described in US Pat. No. 2,560,595, if it allows the automatic release of the selected key by means of the aforementioned manual control means, however does not allow the automatic re-entry of the key into the housing after use; it is indeed found that it is necessary to manually reintroduce the key into the housing, against the elastic means, then to lock the key in the closed position using manual control means, this operation requiring moreover from the user to use both hands at the same time.

In order to solve the problem which has just been mentioned, the present invention provides a key holder comprising a retractable key in a box provided with an opening through which the body of the key is capable of coming out, one end of the key being mounted. on an axis about which it is able to pivot by a determined angle to exit the case, the axis of the key being fixed in a barrel perpendicular to the axis of the latter, the barrel being mounted rotating in the case and being provided with an axial window allowing the key to exit from the barrel, in a housing from which it can be retracted, when the window is opposite the opening of the case, elastic means urging the key to cause its pivoting around said axis towards a key positioning surface, blocking means making it possible to retain the key inside the case by opposing the action of the elastic means, and manual control means while acting on the blocking means comprising a stop surface formed in the housing against which the body of the key is in abutment when the window is vis-à-vis the stop surface, the control means make it possible to cause the rotation of the barrel in the housing when it is desired to move the axial window from a first position in which it is vis-à-vis the abutment surface to a second position in which it is vis-à-vis said opening, characterized in that the control means consist of an element connected to the barrel and accessible from outside the housing, the barrel being fitted with a return spring urging it to rotate towards said first position.

Thanks to such a structure, the key contained in the case can be re-entered automatically in this by a simple action of the user on the body of the key.

• la figure 1 est une vue en coupe d'un porte- clefs réalisé selon les enseignements de la présente invention, et dans laquelle la clef est représentée en position de sortie;
• la figure 2 est une vue en coupe selon la ligne 2-2 de la figure 1;
• la figure 3 est une vue en coupe selon la ligne 3-3 de la figure 1;
• la figure 4 est une vue en coupe selon la ligne 4-4 de la figure 1, la clef étant en position escamotée;
• la figure 5 est une vue en coupe selon la ligne 5-5 de la figure 1, la clef étant en position escamotée;
• la figure 6 est une vue en coupe selon la ligne 6-6 de la figure 1, étant en position escamotée;
• la figure 7 est une vue en coupe selon la ligne 7-7 de la figure 1, la clef étant en position escamotée;
• la figure 8 est une vue générale extérieure du porteclefs représenté à la figure 1, la clef étant en position escamotée; et
• la figure 9 est une vue latérale selon la flèche F de la figure 8.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

• Figure 1 is a sectional view of a key holder made according to the teachings of the present invention, and in which the key is shown in the output position;
• Figure 2 is a sectional view along line 2-2 of Figure 1;
• Figure 3 is a sectional view along line 3-3 of Figure 1;
• Figure 4 is a sectional view along line 4-4 of Figure 1, the key being in the retracted position;
• Figure 5 is a sectional view along line 5-5 of Figure 1, the key being in the retracted position;
• Figure 6 is a sectional view along line 6-6 of Figure 1, being in the retracted position;
• Figure 7 is a sectional view along line 7-7 of Figure 1, the key being in the retracted position;
• Figure 8 is a general exterior view of the key holder shown in Figure 1, the key being in the retracted position; and
• FIG. 9 is a side view along arrow F of FIG. 8.

The keyring as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 9 comprises a box 10 of generally rectangular parallelepeled shape.

The housing 10 comprises a lower part constituted by a bottom 12 and a rectangular flat cover 14, and an upper part constituted killed by a rectangular cover 16.

The housing 10 contains a retractable key 18 intended for example to control the unlocking of a door lock of a motor vehicle, and a second device for controlling the unlocking of the locks of the doors of the vehicle. In the embodiment shown, this second device consists of an infrared wave transmitter intended to cooperate with a receiving device (not shown) integrated into the vehicle. The infrared emitting device has been represented only in a schematic manner. The main components are an emitting lamp 19 and batteries 20.

We will now describe in detail the structure for removing the key 18 from the housing 10, in the event of a failure of the device emitting infrared waves.

The key 18 comprises a functional body 22 intended to be introduced into a lock (not shown), and a gripping head constituted by the housing 10 itself.

A rectangular opening 24 is formed in a side wall of the housing 10.

According to the invention, one end 26 of the body 22 of the key 18 is pivotally mounted in the housing 10 by means of an axis 28. The key 18 is capable of pivoting around the axis 28 to exit the housing 10 by the opening 24. In FIG. 1, the key is shown in the extended position and an intermediate position of the key 18 'and the retracted position of the key 18 "have been shown in dashed lines. In the example shown, the key 22 pivots around the axis 28 by an angle of 90 ° between the extended position 18 and the retracted position 18 ". The axis 28 is not mounted directly in the housing 10 but in a barrel 30 mounted itself rotating in the housing 10 in a manner which will be described later. The axis 28 is mounted in a bore 32 of the barrel 30. The direction of the bore 32 and therefore of the axis 28 is perpendicular to the general axis X-X of the barrel 30 around which the latter can rotate. As can be seen in Figure 1, the general axis YY of the body of the key 18 "coincides with the axis XX of the barrel when the latter is in the retracted position in the housing 34 provided for this purpose in the barrel 30. The key can exit or return through a rectangular axial window 35 cut out from the cylindrical wall of barrel 30.

In accordance with the invention, elastic means 36 are provided for permanently urging the body 22 of the key 18 to pivot about the axis 28 in the direction corresponding to the exit of the key. The elastic means 36 consist of a spiral spring 38 wound around the axis 28. A first end 40 of the spiral spring 38 is supported on a flat 42 formed on the body 22 of the key 18. The second end 44 of the spring 38 is supported on a bearing surface 46 formed on the barrel 30, more precisely at the upper part of the housing 34. Under the action of the spiral spring 38, the key 18 is kept in contact with a positioning surface 48 formed on the upper contour of the window 35 of the barrel 30. The positioning surface 48 cooperates with a corresponding surface 50 formed on the body 22 of the key 18 in order to precisely define the determined angle of pivoting of the key around the axis 28 and the position taken out of the key relative to the housing 10.

According to another characteristic of the invention, blocking means are provided for retaining the key 18 inside the barrel 30 and therefore of the housing 10 and thus preventing inadvertent pivoting of the key 18 around the axis 28 under the action of the spiral spring 38. These locking means are constituted by the rotational mounting of the barrel 30 in the housing 10 and by the possibility thus offered of being able to hide the window 35 of the barrel 30 and thus completely retract the key 18.

The barrel 30 is rotatably mounted in the housing 10 by means of an upper journal 52 and a lower journal 54 which are received in bores, 56 and 58 respectively, formed in the housing 10. The barrel 30 can thus rotate around its axis XX relative to the housing 10 when the key is in the retracted position 18 ", that is to say when the axis YY is coincident with the axis XX. Indeed, in this position, the body 22 of the key 18 no longer cooperates with the edge of the opening 40 and therefore does not oppose the rotation of the barrel 30. The position of the barrel 30 in the housing 10, defined by the location of the bores 56 and 58, is chosen so that when the window 35 faces the opening 24, the edge of the window 35 comes flush with the edge of the opening 24 as can be seen in FIG. 3.

When the barrel occupies the position shown in Figure 6, that is to say when it has rotated 90 ° clockwise around its axis XX from the position it occupies in FIG. 1, the opening 35 is located opposite an abutment surface 60 formed inside the housing 10. In this position, the window 35 is entirely masked by the abutment surface 60 against which the external surface 23 of the body 22 of the key 18 is in abutment.

The rotation of the barrel 30 about its axis XX can be controlled using a control wheel 62 connected to the barrel 30. In the embodiment shown, the control wheel 62 came integrally with the barrel 30 and consists of a series of axial grooves formed on the external surface of the latter, in the vicinity of the upper pin 52. The wheel 62 is inscribed in the upper part of the contour of the opening 24 of the housing 10 and is therefore accessible from the outside the housing to an operator who would like to rotate the barrel 30 about its axis XX.

The rotation of the barrel 30 about its axis XX is limited by a cylindrical pin 64, fixed to the barrel 30 and extending parallel to the axis of the latter (see FIG. 4). The pin 64 enters a buttonhole in an arc of a circle 66. The rotation of the barrel is therefore limited between a first position in which the window 35 is facing screw of the abutment surface 60 and in which the pin 64 abuts against the end 68 of the buttonhole 66, and a second position in which the window 35 is opposite the opening 24, the pin 64 then being in abutment against the second end 70 of the buttonhole 66. The arc of the buttonhole 66, delimited by the ends 68 and 70 of the latter, makes an angle of 90 ° determining the possible rotation of 90 ° of the barrel around its axis XX.

The means for limiting the rotation of the barrel, in addition to the pin 64, also include a return 72 permanently urging the barrel towards the first position defined above, that is to say towards the position in which the pin 64 is in abutment on the first end 68 of the buttonhole 66. The return spring 72 is a cylindrical spiral spring mounted in an axial cylindrical groove 73 formed in the barrel 30 in the vicinity of the upper pin 52. A first end 74 of the spring is received in a hole 76 formed at the bottom of the cylindrical groove 73. The second end 78 of the spring 72 is received in a bore 80 formed in the housing 10. The ends 74 and 78 of the spring 72 are thus fixed respectively to the barrel 30 and to the housing 10, the spring 72 permanently exerts an elastic force of rotation on the barrel 30.

In order to allow the attachment of another key (not shown) such as for example a vehicle ignition key, the housing 10 is equipped with a ring 82 hooked on a pin 84 of the housing 10.

We will now describe the operation of the retractable key ring.

In the event of a failure of the infrared wave emitter incorporated in the housing 10, the user must cause the key to be released, which is retracted into the housing 10, the latter usually having the external appearance shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

The user must act on the control wheel 62, anticlockwise when considering FIG. 7, to cause a rotation of the barrel, against the elastic force of rotation exerted by the return spring 72. The barrel must be rotated from the first position defined above, by an angle of 90 ° until it occupies the second position defined above. As soon as this position is reached, that is to say as soon as the window 35 is opposite the opening 24, the key 18 automatically pivots around its axis 28 under the effect of the force elastic rotation exerted on the body 22 of the key by the spiral spring 38. The key then pivots until it occupies its extended position as shown in Figure 1. The user can then use the emergency key 18 using the housing 10 as the gripping head of the key 18.

When the user wishes to retract the key 18 again in the housing 10, he must pivot the body 22 around the axis 28 by acting on the latter against the elastic force exerted by the spring 38, and this until the key occupies its retracted position 18 ", illustrated in FIG. 1. In this retracted position, the body 22 of the key 18 is completely erased inside the housing 35 formed in the barrel 34 and there is no longer anything to prevent the barrel from rotating around its axis in the clockwise direction under the action of the return spring 72 (referring to FIG. 6). thus until it comes again to occupy the first position defined above, position in which the pin 64 is in abutment against the end 68 of the buttonhole 66, and in which the body 22 of the key is in abutment against the surface 60 of the housing 10 which completely hides the window 35. The key is again completely retracted and is no longer visible from the outside of the housing.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment which has just been described. The key body could in particular pivot 180 "in order to occupy an extended position parallel to the axis of the infrared lamp.

Claims (6)

1. A key holder of the type comprising a retractible key (18) in a case (10) provided with an opening (24) through which the body portion (22) of the key can issue, one end (26) of the key being mounted on a spindle (28) about which it is capable of pivoting through a given angle to issue from the case (10), the spindle (28) of the key (15) being fixed in a cylinder (30) perpendicularly to the axis (X-X) of the cylinder, the cylinder being mounted rotatably in the case and being provided with an axial aperture (35) permitting the key to issue from the cylinder, in a housing (34) in which it can be retracted, when the aperture (35) is disposed facing the opening (24) in the case, resilient means (36) engaging the key to cause it to pivot about its spindle towards a positioning surface (48) for the key, blocking means (30-60) permitting the key to be retained within the case (10), in opposition to the force of the resilient means (36), and manual actuating means (62) which make it possible to act on the blocking means (30), comprising an abutment surface (60) which is formed in the case and against which the body portion (22) of the key is in a position of abutment when the aperture (35) is disposed facing the abutment surface, the actuating means (62) making it possible to cause rotary movement of the cylinder in the case when the axial aperture (35) is to be displaced from a first position in which it is disposed facing the abutment surface (60) towards a second position in which it is disposed facing said opening (24), characterised in that the actuating means comprise an element (62) which is connected to the cylinder and which is accessible from the exterior of the case, the cylinder (30) being provided with a return spring (72) urging it by a rotary movement towards said first position.

2. A key holder according to claim 1 characterised in that said return spring (72) is a coil type spring mounted in a cylindrical axial groove (73) which is formed in the cylinder, the two ends (74-78) of the spring being fixed to the cylinder and to the case.

3. A key holder according to either one of claims 1 or 2 characterised in that, when the key is in its extended position, that is to say, when said aperture (35) is disposed facing said opening (24), the body portion (22) of the key co-operates with the edge of the opening (24) to resist any untimely rotary movement of the cylinder under the effect of the return spring (72).

4. A key holder of the type comprising a key which is retractible into a case according to any one of the preceding claims characterised in that said case comprises an actuating means for unlocking doors comprising a wave emitter.

5. A key holder according to claim 3 characterised in that said actuating means comprise means (64-66) for limiting the rotary movement of said cylinder (30) about its axis (X-X) between said first and second positions.

6. A key holder according to claim 5 characterised in that said limiting means comprise a peg (64) which is fixed to said cylinder and which extends parallel to the axis thereof, said peg being received in a slot (66) formed in the case (10), said first and second positions corresponding to the peg (64) moving into a position of abutment against each of the two ends (68-70) of said slot (66).

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