GB1567416A - Control lever assembly for the bonnet lock of a motor vehicle - Google Patents

Description

(54) CONTROL LEVER ASSEMBLY FOR THE BONNET LOCK OF A MOTOR VEHICLE (71) We, FIAT SOCIETA PER AZIONI, an Italian Joint Stock Company of, 10, Corso Marconi, Turin, Italy, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which itis to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention relates to a control lever assembly for the bonnet lock of a motor vehicle, and particularly to such an assembly with a lever which is pivotally mounted at one end in a support which is fixable to a part of the bodywork of the motor vehicle, and which is provided with an anchorage for a flexible cable for controlling the opening of the bonnet lock.

Known lever assemblies of the said type, are usually made of metal and are firmly fixed to a part of the vehicle bodywork, usually below the dashboard on the driver's side of the vehicle.

In the case of a frontal collision of the vehicle, such a lever assembly, being rigidly connected to the bodywork, constitutes a serious danger to the driver as he may knock against it, with his knee for example, and be injured.

The object of the present invention is to provide a lever assembly of the type specified above, which is less dangerous to the occupants of a vehicle in the event of a collision than such known lever assemblies.

According to the present invention there is provided a control lever assembly for a bonnet lock of a motor vehicle comprising a lever having an anchorage for a flexible cable to be connected thereto and being pivotally mounted at one end in a cooperating seat in a support adapted to be fixed to the bodywork of the vehicle such that the lever is turnable between a normal, or rest, position and an operative position, for releasing the bonnet lock, characterised in that the said support is of resilient material, the seat opens into one face of the support such that a pivot pin of the lever is snap engageable therewith, and the lever has a portion intermediate the pivot pin and the said anchorage which abuts a face of the support in the normal position of the lever in use, the said face acting as a fulcrum for pivotal movement of the lever to disengage the pin from the seat when the free end of the lever is displaced from its normal position in a direction away from the said operative position.

In use, such a lever assembly would usually be mounted in the vehicle so that the driver could pull the lever to turn it from its normal to its operated position to open the bonnet lock. In the event of a collision any part of the driver striking the lever would, however, displace the lever in the opposite direction causing the pivot pin, and hence the lever, to disengage from its seat and thus the possibility of injury to the driver is reduced.

One embodiment of the invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a lever and of its support both in the assembled position and in the sidengaged position; Figure 2 is a side view of the lever of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view of the support of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of Figure 1 illustrating the disengaged position of the lever.

Referring to the drawings, a lever assembly according to the invention for controlling a bonnet lock (not shown) is shown and has a lever 1 which is of plastics material and is pivotally mounted in a bifurcated support bracket 2, also of plastics material, which in turn is engaged in a support plate 16 mounted on a part 19 of vehicle bodywork.

The lever 1 is formed at one end with an integral pivot pin 3, the ends of which project on either side of the lever 1 and are pivotally mounted in respective seats 13, one in each of the arms 11 of the bifurcated support bracket 2. The lever 1 depends from the pivot pin 1 and is shown in its normal, rest position in use.

Intermediate its ends, the lever 1 is provided with an anchorage 5 for a cable 21 for controlling the bonnet lock. The anchorage 5 comprises an elongate projection angled upwardly towards the support bracket 2 and having a longitudinal throughbore 6, 7. The portion 6 of the throughbore within the free end of the projection 5 is of smaller diameter than the portion 7 which extends through the lever 1 itself. The lower end 8 of the lever 1 is arcuate to facilitate its being grasped by an operator when it is desired to pull the lever to pivot it into its operated position, thus pulling the cable 21 to open the bonnet lock.

Each seat 13 for the pivot pin 3 comprises a generally keyhole-shaped slot opening into the free end face of the respective arm 11 of the support bracket 2, each seat 13 having a circular seat portion for the pin and an outwardly-flared access portion to allow access of the pin 3 into the seat portion. The edges of each seat 13 are resilient to allow the pin to be snap engaged with, or disengaged from, the seats 13; this snap action is facilitated by an aperture 25 made in each arm 11 adjacent the respective seat 3.

The lever 1 is also formed with integral lugs 4 which project one on either side of the lever 1, intermediate the pin 3 and the anchorage 5. The end of each lug 4 which is turned towards the support bracket 2 is inclined and, in the normal position of the lever 1 in use (shown in full outline in Figure 1), abuts an end face 23 of a respective arm 11 of the bracket 2. Each face 23 thus acts as a fulcrum for the lever 1 when the lower end 8 of the lever 1 is pressed towards the support bracket 2 and results in the pivot pin 3 disengaging from its seat 13, the lever moving into the disengaged position shown in broken outline as 26 in Figure 1.

The lugs 4 have the additional purpose of facilitating the assembly of the flexible cable 21 by turning the lever 1 about the fulcrum formed by the abutment of the lugs 4 against the opposing walls 23. This abutment also determines the limit of the normal free travel of the lever in use and holds it in a position ready for use.

The support bracket 2 is attached to the support plate 16 by means of an anchorage portion 10 which has two resilient lateral fins 14 for fixing it by snap action into an opening in the plate 16. The plate 16 has a portion 17 for attachment to the part 19 of the bodywork by means of screws 18.

In use, the lever 1 would thus be mounted on the bodywork of a vehicle, in front of the driving position and under the dashboard, with the flexible cable 21 connected at one end into the anchorage 5 and at the other end to the bonnet lock such that the driver can pull the lever to open the bonnet lck.

Should the driver knock the lever with his knee, for example as a result of a collision, the pivot pin 3 would snap disengage from its seats 13 in the support bracket 2 and injury to the driver would be minimised.

WHAT WE CLAIM lS:- 1. A control lever assembly for a bonnet lock of a motor vehicle, comprising a lever having an anchorage for a flexible cable to be connected thereto and being pivotally mounted at one end in a cooperating seat in a support adapted to be fixed to the body work of the vehicle such that the lever is turnable between a normal, or rest, position and an operative position for releasing the bonnet lock, in which the said support is of resilient material, the seat opens into one face of the support such that a pivot pin of the lever is snap engageable therewith, and the lever has a portion intermediate the pivot pin and the said anchorage which abuts a face of the support in the normal position of the lever in use, the said face acting as a fulcrum for pivotal movement of the lever to disengage the pin from the seat when the free end of the lever is displaced from its normal position in a direction away from the said operative position.

2. A control lever assembly for a bonnet lock of a motor vehicle, substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (2)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. on either side of the lever 1 and are pivotally mounted in respective seats 13, one in each of the arms 11 of the bifurcated support bracket 2. The lever 1 depends from the pivot pin 1 and is shown in its normal, rest position in use. Intermediate its ends, the lever 1 is provided with an anchorage 5 for a cable 21 for controlling the bonnet lock. The anchorage 5 comprises an elongate projection angled upwardly towards the support bracket 2 and having a longitudinal throughbore 6, 7. The portion 6 of the throughbore within the free end of the projection 5 is of smaller diameter than the portion 7 which extends through the lever 1 itself. The lower end 8 of the lever 1 is arcuate to facilitate its being grasped by an operator when it is desired to pull the lever to pivot it into its operated position, thus pulling the cable 21 to open the bonnet lock. Each seat 13 for the pivot pin 3 comprises a generally keyhole-shaped slot opening into the free end face of the respective arm 11 of the support bracket 2, each seat 13 having a circular seat portion for the pin and an outwardly-flared access portion to allow access of the pin 3 into the seat portion. The edges of each seat 13 are resilient to allow the pin to be snap engaged with, or disengaged from, the seats 13; this snap action is facilitated by an aperture 25 made in each arm 11 adjacent the respective seat 3. The lever 1 is also formed with integral lugs 4 which project one on either side of the lever 1, intermediate the pin 3 and the anchorage 5. The end of each lug 4 which is turned towards the support bracket 2 is inclined and, in the normal position of the lever 1 in use (shown in full outline in Figure 1), abuts an end face 23 of a respective arm 11 of the bracket 2. Each face 23 thus acts as a fulcrum for the lever 1 when the lower end 8 of the lever 1 is pressed towards the support bracket 2 and results in the pivot pin 3 disengaging from its seat 13, the lever moving into the disengaged position shown in broken outline as 26 in Figure 1. The lugs 4 have the additional purpose of facilitating the assembly of the flexible cable 21 by turning the lever 1 about the fulcrum formed by the abutment of the lugs 4 against the opposing walls 23. This abutment also determines the limit of the normal free travel of the lever in use and holds it in a position ready for use. The support bracket 2 is attached to the support plate 16 by means of an anchorage portion 10 which has two resilient lateral fins 14 for fixing it by snap action into an opening in the plate 16. The plate 16 has a portion 17 for attachment to the part 19 of the bodywork by means of screws 18. In use, the lever 1 would thus be mounted on the bodywork of a vehicle, in front of the driving position and under the dashboard, with the flexible cable 21 connected at one end into the anchorage 5 and at the other end to the bonnet lock such that the driver can pull the lever to open the bonnet lck. Should the driver knock the lever with his knee, for example as a result of a collision, the pivot pin 3 would snap disengage from its seats 13 in the support bracket 2 and injury to the driver would be minimised. WHAT WE CLAIM lS:-

1. A control lever assembly for a bonnet lock of a motor vehicle, comprising a lever having an anchorage for a flexible cable to be connected thereto and being pivotally mounted at one end in a cooperating seat in a support adapted to be fixed to the body work of the vehicle such that the lever is turnable between a normal, or rest, position and an operative position for releasing the bonnet lock, in which the said support is of resilient material, the seat opens into one face of the support such that a pivot pin of the lever is snap engageable therewith, and the lever has a portion intermediate the pivot pin and the said anchorage which abuts a face of the support in the normal position of the lever in use, the said face acting as a fulcrum for pivotal movement of the lever to disengage the pin from the seat when the free end of the lever is displaced from its normal position in a direction away from the said operative position.

2. A control lever assembly for a bonnet lock of a motor vehicle, substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.