FR2780084A1 - Automobile door handle - Google Patents

Abstract

The automobile door handle comprises a body (3) for fixing to the door and a cylinder (10) able to control a lock. A housing (12) receiving a key (14) is delimited by a front external surface (11). The cylinder has an inlet (15) in its front surface and a covering (16) which closes the inlet. The covering comprises a movable cover (18) with a hinge (23) interposed between the covering body and the fixing body allowing movement between closed and open positions.

Description

"Handle for motor vehicle door" The present invention

relates to a door handle

vehicle.

  The invention relates more particularly to a handle of the type comprising a rigid structure, capable of being coupled to the vehicle door, and a key actuation device, itself comprising a barrel provided with a housing for a

  key for actuating one or more locks.

  On certain vehicles, in addition to the key actuation device, there is an additional electrical actuation device for the locks which is normally remotely controlled. This is why, in such types of vehicles, the key actuation devices fulfill a secondary function, namely backup in the event of a breakdown of the

  i electrical actuation device, reason why,

  all for reasons of an aesthetic nature, the requirement was felt to hide the barrels and the housings in which the associated keys are engaged during use, in order to

  make it virtually invisible from the outside.

  For this purpose, yarn known to use plug elements, which are completely separate from the handle and have a plate part, disposed in abutment against a front surface of the barrel, and an anchoring part which is force fitted the interior of said housing and is extracted from

  this housing by acting on the plate portion.

  The known elements forming a plug, of the type described below

  on top, although used, are found to be very unsatisfactory because they are not only difficult to insert, but above all difficult to extract, so that, in most cases,

  their extraction is subject to the use of instruments ex-

  special tractors. The above essentially results from the fact that, to avoid spontaneous uncoupling as a result of the inevitable deformation and wear of the part

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  anchor, this anchor part must be force fitted

  energetically inside the associated housing.

  The use of extractor instruments is in all cases hardly tolerated by users, since their use is relatively difficult, in particular

  for inexperienced people, and leads in many-

  in the event of damage not only to the elements forming the plug, but also to the handle itself, and in

  some cases of the body surrounding the handle.

  The object of the present invention is to provide a poi

  gene whose performance characteristics allow

  solve problems ex- in a simple and economical way

posed above.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a handle for a vehicle door, comprising a fixing body, capable of being permanently connected to the vehicle door, a barrel, capable of controlling a lock and delimited by a front surface. exterior, a housing, which is intended to receive an actuation key and is formed in the barrel and has an entry formed in the front surface, and covering means serving to cover the front surface and close the entry, characterized in that the covering means comprise a movable covering body and means

  relative displacement interposed between the covering body

  ment and the fixing body in order to allow this movable body

  covering to move relative to the fixing body

  tion between a closed position, in which it faces said front surface and said entry, and a position

  opening in which it allows free access to housing.

  According to other characteristics of the invention - the relative displacement means comprise hinge means having a hinge axis and

  able to allow at least one rotation of the covering body

  between said open and closed positions

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  - the hinge axis is a fixed axis relative to the fixing body; the hinge means comprise a rotation pin, coaxial with the fixed axis and carried by one of said bodies, and a housing serving to at least partially receive the rotation pin and presented by the other of said bodies, restraint

  being provided to maintain the spindle of rotation inside the lo-

reception check;

  - the retaining means are retaining means li-

  J0 berables - the retaining means are latching retaining means; - The axis is a movable axis parallel to itself relative to the fixing body; - The hinge means comprise at least one rotation pin, carried by one of said bodies, and guide means serving to guide the rotation pin along a path of

  advance movement during movement of the covering body

  between said closed and open positions; - The advance movement path comprises at least one substantially straight section;

  the guide means comprise a guide which

  itself takes an input / output section communicating with the outside and able to allow the decoupling of the rotation spindle and of the covering body with respect to the guide - the covering means further comprise engagement means by engagement releasable used to

  maintain the covering body in said closed position

meture.

  The invention will be described with reference to the drawings an-

  which represent a nonlimiting example of embodiment and of which: FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a preferred embodiment of the handle according to the present

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  invention, coupled to a door of a partially represented vehicle, FIG. 2 is a sectional view, on a larger scale, by line 11-il of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 and represents a variant of a detail of figure 2 and figure 4 represents a detail of figure 3 arranged

  in a different functional position.

  In FIG. 1, 1 designates as a whole a handle

  io provided for a door 2, partially shown, of a vehicle

cule (not shown).

  The handle 1 comprises a fixing body 30 which is

  permanently connected to door 2, in a known manner, and is

  limited by a profiled outer surface 5. The body 3

  takes a tubular part 7 which extends inside the door 2 through an opening 8 formed in the bodywork 6 of the door 2 and it is provided with an opening 9 for communication of the interior space to the part tubular 7 with the outside. Part 7 is used to house a known barrel 10 which is delimited towards the outside by a substantially flat surface 11 and is provided with a blind housing 12 which has its own axis 13 and

  in which engages during use a key

  strip 14, shown in broken lines in Figure 1, which is inserted into this housing 12 through the opening

  9 and an inlet 15 formed in the surface 11.

  The barrel 10 is hidden, so as to make it com-

  completely invisible from the outside, by means of a covering device 16 comprising a covering element 18 associated with the opening 9. The element 18 itself comprises a profiled outer closing plate 20 and a body forming a buffer 21 , preferably made of an elastomeric material, which is able to cooperate in abutment with the surface 11 and is permanently connected to an inner surface of the plate 20, the outer surface of the latter being profiled so as to constitute in

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  during use an extension of the surface 5 of the body of

fixing 3 (figure 2).

  As shown, in particular in FIG. 2, the covering element 18 is articulated on the body 3 by means of a hinge 23 which forms part of the device 16 and allows the element 18 to rotate by relation to the body 3 around an axis 24 perpendicular to the axis 13 glimpsed a position of

  closing and an opening position shown respectively-

  ment in solid lines and broken lines in 1o Figure 2. When the element 18 is disposed in its closed position, it extends completely inside the opening 9 and it has its body forming a buffer 21 disposed in contact with the surface 11 and overlapping the latter, and its plate 20 arranged so as to close the opening 9. On the other hand, when it is disposed in its open position, the element 18 extends outside the body 3, thereby allowing the insertion of the key 14 into the housing 12 through

opening 9.

  More particularly, the hinge 23 comprises a hinge pin 25, permanently fixed to the body 3 according to

  a position coaxial with the axis 24, and an elastic tubular body 26

  that which came in one piece with the plate 20, delimits a lo-

  element 10 used to receive pin 25 and is provided with a

  longitudinal slot 27 flared towards the housing and suitable for

  put pin 25 to snap inside this compartment

  is lying. Still with reference to FIG. 2, the element 18 is held in its closed position by a hooking tooth 28 which is carried by an elastic appendage 29, coming in one piece on a peripheral part of the plate 20 opposite to that carrying the tubular body 26, and is able to hang on a projection of the body 3. The elastic appendage 29

  extends inside the body 3 and partially delimits a ca-

30 open to the outside.

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  In use, starting from the situation shown

  shown in FIG. 2, in which the element 18 is disposed in its closed position and the tooth 28 is hooked to the body 3, and if it is essential to actuate the lock by means of the key 14, it is possible to use the barrel 10 simply by unhooking the tooth 28 by inserting the tip of the nail inside the cavity 30, so as to flex the appendage 29 before rotating the element 18 around the axis 24 in order to bring it into its open position. Once

  0o the lock actuated and the key 14 extracted, it is again pos-

  likely to rotate the element 18 around the axis 24 and

  couple it to body 3 by engagement.

  In the variant shown in Figures 3 and 4, the char-

  nière 23 with fixed axis is replaced by a hinge 32 with mobile axis s5 comprising two fixed lateral guides 33 each of which is delimited by a respective pair of walls 30, which face and are parallel and which are permanently connected to the body 3 , and has a respective rectilinear section, inclined relative to the axis 13, and a blind terminal section which extends perpendicular to the axis 13 and makes an acute angle with the

inclined section.

  Still with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the element 18 comprises two opposite fingers 36 which extend coaxially to an axis 37 perpendicular to the axis 13 and each engage in a respective guide 33 so as to be able to turn and slide axially, in order to allow the element 18 to move between a closed position, in which the buffer body 21 is disposed in contact with the surface 11 and the fingers 36 engage in the blind end sections

  respective guides 33, and an open position in the

  which fingers 36 are arranged in an entry of these guides

  of the respective 33. When the element 18 is placed in its po-

  opening position, fingers 36 can be uncoupled from

  guides 33 and the element 18 can be moved away from the handle 1.

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  From the above, it is clear that the characteristics

  The realization of the covering device 16 described allow on the one hand an optimal masking of the barrel 10 and on the other hand quick and easy access to this barrel 10. In fact, in the devices 16 described, the displacement of the element of

  overlap 18 towards its open position is above all fa-

  cility by the presence of hinges 23, 32 and is subordinate

  by simply detaching tooth 28 which, due to the fact that it is

  ted by a flexible appendage, can be detached by a sim-

  1o pie push of the nail. It is therefore apparent that, compared

  with known solutions, the displacement of the covering element

  No special instrument is required.

  In addition, in the case of using hinges and a fixed axis, the covering element 18 remains in each case always coupled to the fixing body 3 of the handle, so that all the problems of failure present are eliminated.

in known solutions.

  From the above, it is clear that changes

  cations and variants which do not depart from the protective framework of the present invention can be made to the handle 1

  described. In particular, the covering elements 18 may

  wind have different geometrical characteristics from those indicated by way of example. Likewise,

  hinges 23, 32 could be produced in a different way

  income from that indicated and, in particular, could be replaced

  placed by an elastically deformable appendage, which is made or not by molding at the same time as the body 3 of the handle when the latter is for example made of material

  plastic, and is shaped to define a vir-

  tuelle. Not only, but the hinge 33 with movable axis for-

  may include removable or unwanted stop means

  in the entries of the guides 33 to retain the fingers 36 engaged

  each in the respective guide 33.

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Claims (12)

  1. Handle (1) for a door (2) of a vehicle, including   nant a fixing body (3), adapted to be permanently connected to the door (2) of the vehicle, a barrel (10), capable of controlling a lock and delimited by an external front surface (11), a housing (12 ), which is intended to receive an actuation key (14) and is formed in the barrel (10) and has an inlet (15) formed in the front surface (11), and covering means (16) serving to cover the front surface (11) and close the entrance (15), characterized in that the covering means (16) comprise a movable covering body (18) and relative displacement means (23; 32) interposed between the cover body (18) and the body   fixing (3) to allow this movable body to cover   really (18) to move relative to the fixing body (3)   between a closed position, in which it faces the-   said front surface (11) and at said inlet (15), and an open position in which it allows free access to the housing (12).   2. Handle according to claim 1, characterized in that the relative displacement means comprise   hinge means (23, 32) having a hinge axis   nière (24, 37) and adapted to allow at least one rotation of the covering body (18) between said open positions and closing.   3. Handle according to claim 2, characterized in that the hinge axis (24) is a fixed axis relative to the body fixing (3).   4. Handle according to claim 3, characterized in that   that the hinge means (23) comprise a pin   rotation head (25), coaxial with the fixed axis (24) and carried by one of said bodies (3, 18), and a housing serving to at least partially receive the rotation pin (25) and presented by 9 2780084   the other of said bodies (3, 18), retaining means (26, 27) being provided for holding the rotation spindle (25) at   inside the reception accommodation.   5. Handle according to claim 4, characterized in that the retaining means (26, 27) are rete- nude releasable.   6. Handle according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the retaining means (26, 27) are means of retained by engagement.   7. Handle according to claim 2, characterized in that the axis (37) is an axis movable parallel to itself by relative to the fixing body (3).   8. Handle according to claim 7, characterized in that the hinge means (32) comprise at least one rotation pin (36), carried by one of said bodies   (3) (18), and guide means (33) for guiding the bro-   rotation head (36) along a path of advance movement during the movement of the covering body (18) between   said closed and open positions.   2o 9. Handle according to claim 8, characterized in that the advance movement path comprises at least one substantially straight section.   10. Handle according to claim 9, characterized in that the guide means comprise a guide (33) which itself comprises an inlet / outlet section communicating with the outside and capable of allowing the decoupling of the rotation spindle (36) and the covering body (18) by report to the guide (33).   11. Handle according to any one of claims   previous, characterized in that the means for covering   ment (16) further include releasable latching retaining means (28, 29) for holding the body   cover (18) in said closed position. z U2780084   12. Handle according to any one of claims   previous, characterized in that the fixing body (3) comprises an opening (9) for access to the barrel (10) and in that, when it is disposed in its closed position, the covering body (18) extends completely inside the fixing body (3) and so as to close said opening (9).