FR3054981A1 - CONSOLE FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE HAVING A CONVERTIBLE TABLE CONTAINABLE AND ROTATING BY A VERIN. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a vehicle console comprising a first box (100) comprising a support leg (120), a second box (200) pivotally mounted on said leg (120), and at least one plate (222) mounted movably on said second box (200); said console being able to pass from a retracted configuration in which said second box (200) occupies a lowered position in the rear extension of said first box (100) and where the at least said plate (222) is received in a housing of said second box ( 200), to a service configuration in which said second box (200) occupies a raised position above and at the rear of said first box (100) and wherein the at least said plate (222) extends horizontally to form a box. table; said console further comprising a pneumatic cylinder (230) adapted to automatically cause the lifting in rotation of said second box (200) to its raised position when the latter is no longer retained in the folded position.

Description

Holder (s): PEUGEOT CITROEN AUTOMOBILES SA Société anonyme.

Extension request (s)

Agent (s): PEUGEOT CITROEN AUTOMOBILES SA Public limited company.

CONSOLE FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE WITH A BOX CONVERTIBLE TO A TABLE AND ROTABLE BY A JACK.

FR 3,054,981 - A1 f5f) The invention relates to a console for a vehicle comprising a first box (100) comprising a support leg (120), a second box (200) pivotally mounted on said leg (120), and at least a plate (222) mounted movably on said second box (200); said console being able to pass from a retracted configuration in which said second box (200) occupies a lowered position in the rear extension of said first box (100) and where the at least said tray (222) is received in a housing of said second box ( 200), to a service configuration in which said second box (200) occupies a raised position above and behind said first box (100) and where the at least said tray (222) extends horizontally to form a table; said console further comprising a pneumatic cylinder (230) capable of automatically driving the lifting in rotation of said second box (200) towards its raised position as soon as the latter is no longer retained in the folded position.

CONSOLE FOR. AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE WITH A CONVERTIBLE TABLE CONVERTIBLE AND ROTABLE LIFT BY A JACK.

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to the arrangement of the passenger compartment of minivan or utility type motor vehicles, which comprise several rows of lateral seats arranged symmetrically on either side of the median longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

The invention relates in particular to a console convertible into a table intended to be slidably mounted on the floor of such a vehicle along its median longitudinal axis.

Invention background

Monospace type vehicles with modular passenger compartments and van type utility vehicles dedicated to passenger transport are more and more used in a “leisure” setting, especially during the holiday period.

This type of service has led car manufacturers to integrate a table in the passenger compartment of these vehicles in order to improve passenger comfort.

To preserve the space available inside the vehicle interior when the table is not in use, it is generally retractable.

It is thus known, in particular from French patent application FR 2 850 332, to provide a console mounted sliding on the floor along the median longitudinal axis and comprising a box defining at least one vertical lateral housing accessible by a entry slot, as well as at least one plate mounted mobile on said box between a stowed configuration in which said plate is housed in said corresponding housing and a deployed configuration in which said plate extends horizontally so as to form a table.

The console box which constitutes the foot of the table must therefore be high enough for the use of the table to be ergonomic for the user, which results in a significant mass of the console.

In order to overcome this drawback, patent application FR 3 007 341 filed by the applicant discloses such a console comprising:

- a first box comprising a support leg;

- A second box pivotally mounted on said support leg around a transverse articulation axis and defining at least one vertical lateral housing; and

- at least one plate mounted mobile on said second box;

said console being able to pass:

- A retracted configuration in which said second box extends in the rear extension of said first box, and where the at least said tray is received in said corresponding lateral housing;

- A service configuration in which said second box has pivoted upward to extend above and behind said first box, and where the at least said tray extends horizontally so as to form a table.

This type of console offers in its service configuration a table with excellent ergonomics of use in particular by its raised position in height compared to those of the consoles of the prior art.

However, due to its large mass, the raising of the second box to bring the console into its service configuration proves difficult in practice for certain users such as children or the elderly.

Subject and summary of the invention

The present invention therefore aims to facilitate the deployment by users of such a console in its service configuration where it forms a table.

To this end, it offers a console for a motor vehicle intended to be slidably mounted on the floor of said vehicle along its median longitudinal axis, comprising:

- a first box comprising a support leg;

- A second box pivotally mounted on said support leg around a first transverse articulation axis and defining at least one vertical lateral housing; and

- at least one plate mounted mobile on said second box;

said console being able to pass:

- A retracted configuration in which said second box occupies a folded position where it extends in the rear extension of said first box, while the at least said plate is received in said corresponding lateral housing;

- A service configuration in which said second box has pivoted upward to come to occupy a raised position where it extends above and behind said first box, while the at least said tray extends to the 'horizontal so as to form a table;

characterized in that it further comprises a pneumatic cylinder capable of automatically driving the lifting in rotation of said second box towards its raised position when the latter is no longer retained in the folded position.

The invention makes it possible to greatly facilitate the deployment of the console from its retracted configuration to its service configuration.

Thanks to the pneumatic cylinder, only the trays must be deployed horizontally outside the second box by the users to bring the console into this service configuration, which, in comparison with the lifting of the full box, requires only a small effort easily achievable by children or the elderly.

According to preferred characteristics of the console, taken alone or in combination:

- A first end of said cylinder is pivotally mounted on said second box while its second end is pivotally mounted on said support leg of said first box;

- Said console also comprises a crutch mounted to rotate about a second transverse axis on said support leg and capable of occupying a locking position where it cooperates with at least one retaining stop provided on said second box to block the latter in the raised position ;

- Said console comprises first elastic return means capable of permanently exerting on said stand a return force tending to bring it towards said blocking position;

- Said console comprises a control member pivotally mounted on said second box around a third transverse axis and being actuable by a gripping element accessible from the outside of this box, said control member comprising a first arm carrying at least one release finger oriented substantially tangentially to this axis and capable of pivoting said stand against said first elastic means towards a position where it is located away from the at least said retaining stop so as to unlock said second box and allow it to be folded back to its folded position;

- Said first arm has an opening intended to be crossed by said crutch during the pivoting of said second box towards its folded position;

- Said stand is constituted by a metal section with U-shaped section formed by two lateral fins connected by a transverse base, said control member further comprising an anti-vibration core projecting into said opening and arranged to be interposed between its two say fins when said stand crosses this opening;

- At least one damping element made of elastomeric material is installed on said first arm to absorb the shocks exerted between the latter and said second box during the pivoting of said control member;

- Said control member comprises a second arm carrying at its free end a hook capable of cooperating with a chin provided on said support leg of said first box to lock said second box in its folded position; and or

said console comprises second elastic return means arranged between said second box and said control member so as to permanently urge the latter towards a rest position in which said hook is capable of locking said second box in its folded position while the at least said unlocking finger is located away from said stand.

Brief description of the drawings

The description of the invention will now be continued with the detailed description of an exemplary embodiment, given below by way of illustration but not limitation, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

- the front quarter figure of the retracted one;

represents a console according to perspective view of three the invention in configuration

- Figure 2 is a perspective view of three quarter front of the console according to the invention in service configuration and the covering has been omitted in order to better visualize its internal structure;

- Figure 3 shows a side view of the console according to the invention in the retracted configuration and on which certain elements have been omitted in order to facilitate understanding of the invention;

- Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing the console in its service configuration; and

- Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the internal control mechanism of the console according to the invention.

Detailed description of a preferred embodiment

The console 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is intended to be slidably mounted on the floor of a motor vehicle of the MPV or utility type along the median longitudinal tax of this vehicle between the two seats in each of the different rows of seats.

By convention, the terms “front”, “rear”, “longitudinal” and “transverse” are defined with respect to the mounting position of this console 1 in the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

The console 1 consists of a storage support box 100 as well as a table box 200 hinged on this storage support box.

The storage support box 100 has an internal structure 110 covered with a covering 150.

The internal structure 110 better visible in FIG. 2 is constituted by two symmetrical shells 110A, 110B obtained separately by molding from a thermoplastic polymer and then assembled together with a plurality of fixing screws.

The polymer used is preferably a polyamide advantageously loaded with glass fibers such as PA6 GF50.

This internal structure 110 comprises, in the lower part, a frame 112 comprising a longitudinal male guide rail (of which only the half 113A formed by the shell 110A is visible in FIGS. 3 and 4) intended to be mounted movable by sliding inside and along a fixed female rail installed in the floor along the median longitudinal tax of the vehicle.

The frame 112 also includes two front and rear pairs of hollow feet 114A, 114B, 115A, 115B extending transversely on either side of the rail 113A near its front and rear ends.

The lower walls of these four feet 114A, 114B, 115A, 115B form sliding shoes intended to slide slidingly on two parallel tracks formed symmetrically on either side of the female rail in the floor of the vehicle.

The internal structure 110 also includes a hollow support leg 120 extending substantially vertically above the rear part of the frame 112 and the upper end of which carries a transverse articulation axis A around which the table box 200 is pivotally articulated.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the internal structure 110 further comprises, at the front of the leg 120 and above the chassis 110, a container 130 open on the top and defining a storage cavity having two compartments in communication with each other, namely:

- A main compartment 132 generally parallelepipedal and shaped to simultaneously accommodate two commercial plastic bottles of 1.5 liters capacity and two other commercial plastic bottles of 0.5 liter capacity arranged vertically next to each other; and

- A rear secondary compartment 133 generally parallelepipedal and shaped to simultaneously accommodate two commercial metal cans of 0.33 liter capacity arranged horizontally one above the other.

The covering 150 open on the rear is delimited by a front facade 151, an upper wall 152 and two lateral flanges 153, 154.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the upper wall 152 has a rectangular window 155 situated directly above the container 130 and through which the users have access to the two compartments 132, 133 of this container 130.

The covering 150 further comprises a cover curtain with lamellas 156 mounted sliding along and below the front facade 151 and the upper wall 152 between an open position in which it is concealed behind the front facade 151 and where the access window 155 is open (FIG. 1), and a closed position in which it covers this access window 155.

The table-top box 200 has an internal L-shaped structure 210, the lateral faces of which are covered by two lateral flanges (only the flange 212 being visible in FIG. 1) having scalloped profiles in an arc of a circle complementary to those of the two lateral flanges 153, 154 of the covering 150 of the storage support box 100.

The internal L-shaped structure 210 better visible in FIG. 2 also consists of two symmetrical shells 210A, 210B obtained separately by molding from a thermoplastic polymer (advantageously identical to that constituting the internal structure 110 of the box 100) then assembled l to each other by a plurality of fixing screws.

This internal structure 210 comprises two angled branches 213, 214 of which a first branch 213 is pivotally articulated on the leg 120 of the internal structure 110 of the storage support box 100 (FIGS. 2 to 4).

The table box 200 can thus be pivoted upwards between a folded position in which it extends in the rear extension of the support storage box 100 (FIG. 1), and a raised position at 90 ° in which it extends to the above at the back of this same storage support box 100 (FIG. 2).

In the folded position of the table box 200, the first and second branches 213, 214 of the internal L-shaped structure 210 extend respectively horizontally and vertically; while the lateral flanges 212 and those complementary 153, 154 of the storage support box 100 form, two by two, two continuous lateral flanges substantially rectangular (Figures 1 and 3).

In the raised position of this table box 200, the first branch 213 vertically extends the support leg 120 to form with it a support upright, while the second branch 214 extends horizontally towards the rear and therefore opposite the tray storage 130 (Figures 2 and 4).

Between the internal L-shaped structure 210 and the two lateral flanges 212, the table box 200 defines two vertically opposite lateral lateral housings, each capable of receiving via a respective entry slot 219, 220 a corresponding rectangular plate 221, 222 (FIG. 2 ).

Each plate 221, 222 is mounted mobile on the table box 200 by sliding and pivoting guide means (not detailed here and not forming the subject of the present invention) between a stowed position in which it is received in the corresponding housing extending generally in a vertical longitudinal plane (FIG. 1), and a deployed position in which it extends out of this housing in a plane substantially parallel to the second branch 214 of the internal L-shaped structure 210 to form half a table (Figure 2).

In order to facilitate the handling of the plates 221, 222 by the user, the latter are each provided at their outer edge with a handle 223.

The external face of the second branch 214 of the internal L-shaped structure 210 is covered with an embellishment 215 separating the two plates 221, 222 when they occupy their deployed position.

This hubcap 215 has cylindrical recesses 224 constituting the cup holders capable of receiving, for example, the cans or the bottles housed in the compartments 132, 133 of the container 130 (FIG. 2).

The console 1 is therefore able to pass from a retracted configuration in which the table box 200 occupies its folded position while the plates 221, 222 are in the stowed position (FIG. 1), to a service configuration in which this table box 200 occupies its raised position while the plates 221, 222 extend horizontally in the deployed position on either side of the box 200 so as to form a table (Figure 2).

It will be noted that the passage of the console 100 in service configuration does not cause any discomfort for the users, in particular thanks to the notched profiles of the lateral flanges 212 of the table pedestal 200 leaving sufficient space for the legs during its pivoting, as well as in the raised position of this table box 200 during the deployment of the plates 221, 222.

It will also be noted that the particular arrangement of this console 100 makes it possible to offer users access to the storage bin 130 not only in its service configuration but also in its retracted configuration where it nevertheless has a particularly compact parallelepiped shape.

According to the invention, the console 1 further comprises a pneumatic cylinder 230 housed inside the internal structures 110, 210 of the two boxes 100, 200 and capable of automatically driving the lifting in rotation of the table box 200 towards its raised position from when the latter is no longer retained in the folded position.

This cylinder 230 conventionally comprises a piston rod 231 movably mounted in a cylindrical body 232. A first end 233 of this cylinder 230 (preferably, that formed by the end of the body 232 opposite the rod 231) is mounted articulated in rotation along a transverse axis on the first branch 213 of the internal structure 210 of the box 200 (Figures 3 and 4).

The second end 234 of the cylinder 230 (preferably, that formed by the end of the piston rod 231 opposite the body 232) is in turn mounted articulated in rotation about a transverse axis on the support leg 120 of the internal structure 110 of box 100.

The console 1 also comprises a stand 240 constituted by a metal section with a U-section formed by two lateral fins 241, 242 connected by a transverse base 243 (FIG. 5) and one of the ends of which is articulated in rotation on the support leg 120 of the internal structure 110 of the box 100, around a transverse axis B.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the spacing between the two lateral fins 241, 242 is slightly greater than the diameter of the body 232 of the jack 230 so that the stand 240 can partially come to surround this body 232 during the kinematics of lifting the box table 200.

The free ends of the two lateral fins 241, 242 are arranged to cooperate with two internal retaining protrusions formed respectively on the shell 210A and the shell 210B forming the first branch 213 of the internal structure 210 of the box 200 (only the protuberance 244 from the shell 210A and cooperating with the fin 241 being visible in FIGS. 3 and 4).

Each protrusion 244 forms a ramp 245 capable of sliding guide a corresponding lateral fin 241, 242 of the stand 240 when the table box 200 moves between its raised and folded positions; as well as a retaining stop 246 able to cooperate, when the stand 240 occupies a locking position, with the free end of this fin 241, 242 for locking the table box 200 in the raised position so as to relieve the jack 230 and to prevent this box 200 from pivoting downwards when too much weight is applied to the rear part of the table located in a cantilevered fashion relative to the support leg 120 (FIG. 4).

Two helical torsion springs 247, 248 are also mounted on the axis B so as to permanently exert on the stand 230 a restoring force tending to bring it towards this locking position.

The console 1 also comprises a control member 250 housed inside the internal structure 210 of the table box 200 and pivotally mounted on the latter around a transverse axis C.

This control member 250, molded in one piece from a thermoplastic material, comprises two perpendicular square arms 251, 252 as well as a grip handle 253 accessible from outside the table box 200.

As for the first arm 251, it carries two parallel lateral unlocking fingers 255, 256 oriented substantially tangentially to the axis C and spaced apart by a distance corresponding to that separating the two fins 241, 242 from the stand 240.

These two lateral fingers 255, 256 are able to cooperate with the edges of the two fins 241, 242 of the stand 240 so as to unlock the table box 200 and allow it to pivot towards its folded position.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the arm 251 has a substantially rectangular opening 259 intended to be crossed by the stand 240 during the pivoting of the box 200 towards its folded position.

The arm 251 also comprises an oval anti-vibration core 260 projecting into the opening 259 from its front edge and arranged to come to be interposed between its two fins 241, 242 when this crutch 240 crosses the opening 259, so as to limit its lateral vibrations, sources of parasitic noise.

Two damping pins 261, 262 made of elastomeric material (such as for example rubber or EPDM) are also installed on the arm 251 to absorb the shocks exerted between the latter and the internal structure 210 of the table box 200 during the pivoting of the control member so as to avoid the emission of dry clicks when the arm 251 comes into contact with the internal structure 210.

These pins 261, 262 project respectively from the upper and lower faces of this arm 251 while being snapped into force in the receiving orifices provided on the latter.

The second arm 252 has at its free end a hook 257 capable of cooperating with a bar 258 formed on the support leg 120 of the structure 110 of the box 100 to lock the table box 200 in its lowered position.

A helical tension spring 263 is further arranged between the internal structure 210 of the box 200 and the control member 250 so as to permanently urge this member 250 towards its rest position in which the hook 257 is capable of locking the box table 200 in its folded position while the fingers 255, 256 are away from the stand 240.

FIGS. 1 and 3 show the console 1 in its retracted configuration where the table box 200 is locked in the folded position thanks to the cooperation between the hook 257 and the chin 258.

To switch this console 1 into service configuration, the user must first bring the table box 200 to the raised position.

To do this, it suffices to pull on the handle 253 to pivot the control member 250 about the axis C and release the hook 257 from the chuck 258.

No longer retained, the table box 200 is therefore automatically pivoted by the deployment of the jack 230 to its raised position.

During this movement of the table box 200, the two lateral fins 241, 242 of the stand 240 slide along the guide rails 245.

When this box 200 arrives in the raised position, the two fins 241, 242 of the stand 250 driven by the springs 247, 248 slide under the guide rails 245 and their free ends come opposite with the two stops 246 to ensure the blocking of the box 200.

The user can then deploy the two trays 221, 222 to form the table and bring the console into its service configuration illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4.

To reposition the console 1 in the retracted configuration, the user must first store the trays 221, 222 in the housings 217, 218 of the box 200.

He must then pull on the handle 253 to rotate the control member 250 around the axis C so that the lateral fingers 255, 256 pass on either side of the body 232 of the jack 230 and push the two fins 241, 242 of the stand 240 to pivot it rearwards against the elastic restoring force exerted by the springs 247, 248 and bring it away from the retaining stops 246.

While keeping the handle 253 pulled, the user can then fold the table box 200 backwards to drive it towards its folded position.

During this movement of the table box 200, the two lateral fins 241, 242 of the stand 240 are first of all guided along the guide ramps 245.

At the end of movement, the free end of this stand 240 crosses the opening 259 made in the arm 251 of the control member 250 while the core 260 comes to be inserted between the two fins 241, 242 so as to prevent any transverse vibration movement of this stand 250 which could generate parasitic noise.

Once the box has been brought into this position, the user then only has to release the handle 253 so that the control member 250 returns to its rest position with its hook 257 which cooperates with the bar 258 to lock the table unit 200.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown, but also encompasses all the variant embodiments within the reach of the skilled person.

The console could for example have only one tray associated with a single housing and forming the table when it occupies its deployed position.

Claims (10)

1. Console for a motor vehicle intended to be slidably mounted on the floor of said vehicle along its median longitudinal axis, comprising: - a first box (100) comprising a support leg (120); - a second box (200) pivotally mounted on said support leg (120) around a first transverse articulation axis (A) and defining at least one vertical lateral housing (217, 218); and - at least one plate (221, 222) mounted movably on said second box (200); said console being able to pass: - A retracted configuration in which said second box (200) occupies a folded position where it extends in the rear extension of said first box (100), while the at least said plate (221, 222) is received in a said corresponding lateral housing (217, 218); - A service configuration in which said second box (200) has pivoted upward to come to occupy a raised position where it extends above and behind said first box (100), while at least said tray (221, 222) extends horizontally so as to form a table; characterized in that it further comprises a pneumatic cylinder (230) capable of automatically driving the lifting in rotation of said second box (200) to its raised position when the latter is no longer retained in the folded position. 2. Console for a motor vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that a first end of said cylinder (230) is pivotally mounted on said second box (200) while its second end is pivotally mounted on said support leg (120) of said first box (100). 3. Console for a motor vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it also comprises a stand (240) rotatably mounted around a second transverse axis (B) on said support leg (120) and able to occupy a blocking position where it cooperates with at least one retaining stop (246) formed on said second box (200) to block the latter in the raised position. 4. Console for a motor vehicle according to claim 3, characterized in that it comprises first elastic return means capable of permanently exerting on said stand (230) a return force tending to bring it towards said locking position. 5. Console for a motor vehicle according to claim 4, characterized in that it comprises a control member (250) pivotally mounted on said second box (200) around a third transverse axis (C) and being actuable by an element gripping (253) accessible from the outside of this box (200), said control member (250) comprising a first arm (251) carrying at least one release finger (255, 256) oriented substantially tangentially to this axis ( C) and able to pivot said stand (240) against said first elastic means towards a position where it is located away from the at least said retaining stop (246) so as to unlock said second box ( 200) and allow it to be folded back to its folded position. 6. Console for a motor vehicle according to claim 5, characterized in that said first arm (251) has an opening (259) intended to be crossed by said stand (240) during the pivoting of said second box (200) towards its folded position . 7. Console for a motor vehicle according to claim 6, characterized in that said stand (240) is constituted by a metal section with U-shaped section formed by two lateral fins (241, 242) connected by a transverse base (243), said control member (250) further comprising an anti-vibration core (260) projecting into said opening (259) and arranged to be interposed between its two said fins (241, 242) when said crutch (240) passes through this opening (259). 8. Console for a motor vehicle according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that at least one damping element of elastomeric material (261, 262) is installed on said first arm (251) to absorb shocks s 'exerting between the latter and said second box (200) during the pivoting of said control member (250). 9. Console for a motor vehicle according to one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that said control member comprises a second arm (252) carrying at its free end a hook (257) capable of cooperating with a chin bar (255) formed on said support leg (120) of said first box (100) to lock said second box (200) in its folded position. 10. Console for a motor vehicle according to claim 9, characterized in that it comprises second elastic return means (263) arranged between said second box (200) and said control member (250) so as to permanently stress this last towards a rest position in which said hook (257) is capable of locking said second box (200) in its folded position while the at least said unlocking finger (255, 256) is located away from said crutch (240). 150 200 221 219,224 222 110 114B 112 114A 113A 115A 253 3/3 234