GB1594215A - Motor vehicle accessory actuator assemblies - Google Patents
Motor vehicle accessory actuator assemblies Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB1594215A GB1594215A GB5308/77A GB530877A GB1594215A GB 1594215 A GB1594215 A GB 1594215A GB 5308/77 A GB5308/77 A GB 5308/77A GB 530877 A GB530877 A GB 530877A GB 1594215 A GB1594215 A GB 1594215A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- support frame
- motor vehicle
- slide member
- guide member
- actuator assembly
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
- 230000000712 assembly Effects 0.000 title claims description 14
- 238000000429 assembly Methods 0.000 title claims description 14
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 claims description 8
- 238000005755 formation reaction Methods 0.000 claims description 8
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims description 7
- 230000000717 retained effect Effects 0.000 claims description 5
- 230000000295 complement effect Effects 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000004033 plastic Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 229920003023 plastic Polymers 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000003780 insertion Methods 0.000 claims description 2
- 230000037431 insertion Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000009434 installation Methods 0.000 claims description 2
- DHKHKXVYLBGOIT-UHFFFAOYSA-N 1,1-Diethoxyethane Chemical compound CCOC(C)OCC DHKHKXVYLBGOIT-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 239000011354 acetal resin Substances 0.000 description 3
- 229920006324 polyoxymethylene Polymers 0.000 description 3
- 239000004743 Polypropylene Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 2
- -1 polypropylene Polymers 0.000 description 2
- 229920001155 polypropylene Polymers 0.000 description 2
- 239000004677 Nylon Substances 0.000 description 1
- 208000027418 Wounds and injury Diseases 0.000 description 1
- 230000006378 damage Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 description 1
- 208000014674 injury Diseases 0.000 description 1
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229920001778 nylon Polymers 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
- B60H1/00—Heating, cooling or ventilating [HVAC] devices
- B60H1/00642—Control systems or circuits; Control members or indication devices for heating, cooling or ventilating devices
- B60H1/0065—Control members, e.g. levers or knobs
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Thermal Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Instrument Panels (AREA)
Description
(54) MOTOR VEHICLE ACCESSORY ACTUATOR ASSEMBLIES
(71) We, GENERAL MOTORS LIMITED, a British Company of High Street North,
Dunstable, Bedfordshire, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method byl which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- This invention relates to motor vehicle accessory actuator assemblies, and, in particular, to motor vehicle accessory assemblies for providing control of heater and ventilator equipment provided for the occupant compartments of motor vehicles.
It has become customary practice in the design of instrument panels for the actuator controls of the heater and ventilator equipment provided for the occupant compartment of a motor vehicle to be grouped together in an assembly located in the instrument panel within reach of a driver of the vehicle. One known type of actuator assembly utilizes operating levers slidably movable in slots in the instrument panel in order to produce adjustment of a valve member governing supply of a heating medium to the vehicle heater, a flap governing the flow of ventilating air into the occupant compartment, and a rheostat governing rate of flow of ventilating and/or heated air into the occupant compartment.Such actuator assemblies are usually manufactured by vehicle accessory manufacturing companies for supply to motor vehicle manufacturing companies constructing motor vehicles having a diversity of instrument panel designs. As a result, known actuator assemblies include a substantial number of parts, and involve a multiplicity of assembly operations by the manufacturer. A further factor which also is important is the safety requirement that the actuator control on the instrument panel of a motor vehicle should be shaped and disposed relative to the occupants of the motor vehicle so as to reduce to a minimum any possibility of injury of said occupant by said controls in the event of the vehicle concerned being involved in a collision.An acceptable way of meeting this safety requirement in respect of heater and ventilator controls is by arranging that the protrusion of these controls from the instrument panel is maintained at an acceptable operational minimum throughout the operational range of movement of these controls.
The present invention has been devised with a view to producing a substantially universal assembly having a small number of parts and a design which involves a small number of assembly operations, whilst retaining the desired safety requirement as aforesaid.
A motor vehicle accessory actuator assembly according to the present invention comprises a support frame including a guide member, a slide member slidably retained by said guide member, and an arm pivoted on said frame, one end portion of said arm having a pin and slot connection with said slide member such that translational movement of said slide member relative to said guide member produces arcuate movement of said pivoted arm the other portion of said pivoted arm serving as an actuating member or said accessory, said support frame having integral formations thereon adapted to engage with complementary formations on another part of a similar support frame to permit assembly of said support frame with said similar support frame within a motor vehicle instrument panel.
Preferably the support frame, the guide member, the slide member and the pivoted arm are formed from mouldable synthetic plastics material. Suitable synthetic plastics materials would be glass-filled polypropylene, acetal resin, and nylon. In a preferred embodiment of the actuator assembly according to the invention, the guide member is made integral with the support frame.
The appended claims define the scope of the invention claimed. The invention and how it may be performed are hereinafter particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an isometric view of a motor vehicle actuator assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2 is an exploded view of the actuator assembly shown in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the actuator assembly shown in
Figure 1;
Figure 4 is an isometric view of a pair of actuator assemblies as shown in Figure l; and
Figure 5 is an isometric view of three actuator assemblies as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 shows a motor vehicle accessory actuator assembly 10 comprising a support frame 12 including a guide member 14, a slide member 16 slidably retained by said guide member 14, and an arm 18 pivoted on said frame 12 by means of pivot pin 20. One end portion 22 of the pivoted arm 18 has an open-ended slot 24 formed therein. The other portion 26 of the pivoted arm 18 is of an arcuate shape. and carries an upstanding pin 28 thereon which serves as a connecting point for a linkage, such as a Bowden cable, to an accessory to be actuated.
The guide member 14 is an integral portion of the support frame 12, and is in the form of a rectangular slotted portion comprising an escutcheon portion 30 provided with apertures 31, 32 therein, which apertures serve as a means of mounting the assembly 10 in position in an aperture in an instrument panel of a motor vehicle, and a recessed rectangularly-shaped portion 34 having a slot 36 extending longitudinally therein.
The slide member 16 comprises a central body portion 38 having parallel-sided channels 40, 42 formed in opposite sides thereof, which parallelsided channels house the longitudinally-extending edge portions 44, 46 of the longitudinal slot 36 of the guide member 14. The support frame 12 and guide member 14 are made from glass-filled polypropylene, which material is sufficiently resilient to allow the longitudinally-extending edge portions 44, 46 of the guide member 14 to be sprung apart from each other sufficiently far to permit insertion of the slide member 16 into the longitudinal slot 36 so that the longitudinal edge portions 44, 46 can engage with the parallel sided channels 40, 42 so as to retain the slide member 16 in slidable engagement with the guide member 14.The slide member 16 also includes a stub portion 48 centrally placed upon the body portion 38 and extending therefrom substantially at right angles to a plane through the parallelsided side channels 40. 42 of the slide member 16. This stub portion is provided with detent means for engaging with a control knob 50 shown schematically in
Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings. On the opposite side of the body portion 38 from the stub portion 48 there is a pair of parallel arms 52, 54 which are joined together adjacent their ends remote from the body portion 38 by a bridging pin 56, which bridging pin 56 is a sliding fit within the slot 24 of the pivoted arm 18. The distance between the parallel arms 52, 54 of the slide member 16 is such that the end portion 22 of the pivoted arm 18 can slide readily between the parallel arms 52, 54 of slide member 16.Slide member 16 is moulded from acetal resin. and the arms 52, 54 are integral with the bridging pin 56, and there is an extension 58 on the bridging pin 56 which houses a movable detent pin 60, which pin is also moulded from acetal resin. Detent pin 60 is slidable within extension 58 and is biased in a direction away from the body portion 38 of the slide member 16 by means of a coil spring 62. The free end of the detent pin 60 abuts a rib portion 64 of the frame 12, which rib portion is provided with indexing depressions 65, 66 and 67 into which the free end of the detent pin 60 can locate in order to provide indexing of the slide member 16 with respect to the guide member 14. The number of indexing depressions in rib 64 can, of course, be varied depending upon the number of indexing positions required for the slide member.Similarly the detent pin 60 and the biasing coil spring 62 can be replaced by any suitable resilient detent means in order to provide this indexing action.
The frame 12 of the assembly also includes four similar cylindrical support members 68, 69, 70, 71 which are integral therewith and extend therefrom substantially at right angles to the plane of the escutcheon 30 of the guide member 14. Each one of these support members 68, 69, 70,71 is provided at both ends with formations engageable with complementary formations on similar support members of a similar assembly. This feature enables a plurality of the assemblies 10 to be connected together side by side within a common aperture in a motor vehicle instrument panel. Thus it is possible to have two of the assemblies linked together, as shown in
Figure 4, or three of the assemblies linked together, as shown in Figure 5.
As can be seen in Figure 2 of the drawings the support frame 12 includes a hole 72 for the pivot pin 20, and two pegs 74, 76 which serve to locate a cable support bracket 78 in position on the support frame 12. As can be seen in Figure 3 of the frawings, the cable support bracket 78 is retained in position on the pegs 74, 76 by staking the end of the pivot pin 20 after it emerges from the hole 72. As can be seen in Figure 2 of the drawings, the cable support bracket 78 is a cranked member having a slotted portion into which is engaged a cable clamp 80, said cable clamp being adjustable relative to said slotted portion to vary the angle of a Bowden cable control linkage between the accessory to be controlled and the actuator assembly.The remaining portion of cable support bracket 78 is in the form of a disc having a central aperture therein and a serrated periphery, the pegs 74, 76 locating in opposite serrations of this disc, and the pivot pin 20 passing through the central aperture and being staked over, as shown in Figure 3 of the drawings in order to retain the serrated disc portion in position relative to the support frame 12. Provision of this serrated disc portion ensures that the disposition of the cable support bracket relative to the support frame 12 can be adjusted before installation of the assembly within a motor vehicle instrument panel so as to produce the most advantageous disposition of the linkage member between the actuator assembly 10 and the accessory to be actuated thereby.
Sliding movement of the slide member 16 with respect to the guide member 14 will produce an arcuate movement of the pivoted arm 18 in order to transmit movement to the accessory to be actuated via the pin 28 and a linkage connecting the assembly 10 and the accessory concerned. As will be appreciated, the sliding movement of the slide member 16 relative to the guide member 14 does not result in the stub portion 48, and its associated control knob, changing its degree of protrusion from the instrument pannel as it moves from one position to another along the guide member 14. By reducing the size of the stub portion 48 and its associated control knob 50 to a minimum protrusion that is acceptable for manual control of the actuator assembly, the aforesaid safety requirement with regard to said assemblies is met.The assembly itself is a neat and compact assembly which is capable of being assembled to a set containing a plurality of similar units without difficulty. Since each assembly has its own adjustable cable support bracket, provision can readily be made for connecting such a multiple set of assemblies to their respective accessories without difficulty. The number of parts used in each assembly is small, and the majority of the parts are moulded directly from a mouldable synthetic platics material, which saves cost. Moreover the number of assembly operations required in order to produce such an actuator assembly is small, which, in turn, also saves expense on behalf of the manufacturer of the assembly.Accordingly, this invention provides a neat, compact accessory actuator assembly for use in a motor vehicle either singularly or in multiple combination to control a variety of motor vehicle accessories, said assembly being substantially universal in application, irrespective of the various designs of instrument panel into which it is to be inserted.
Small variations can, of course, be made in the design without moving away from the inventive concept disclosed in this application. For instance, in the embodiment particularly illustrated, the use of the bridging pin 56 on the slide member 16 produces an arcuate movement of the pivoted arm 18 which varies as the slide member 16 moves in definite increments along the guide member 14. By placing the bridging pin 56 on the pivoted arm 18 and providing the slot 24 on the slide member 16, it is possible to achieve substantially equal increments of movement of the pivoted arm 18 during incremental movement of the sliding member 16. Similarly, in the embodiment illustrated, the pivoted arm 18 is designed to operate an accessory by a cable linkage connected to the pin 28.It is quite feasible instead to arrange for the pivoted arm 18 to operate sequentially a series of switches, or connect sequentially a mumber of fixed resistors, or to operate a rheostat. Additionally, it would be possible, if desired, to provide light guide portions on the support frame in order to illuminate the escutcheon 30 of the guide member 14.
WHAT WE CLAIM IS:
1. A motor vehicle accessory actuator assembly comprising a support frame including a guide member, a slide member slideably retained by said guide member, and an arm pivoted on said frame, one end portion of said arm having a pin and slot connection with said slide member such that translational movement of said slide member relative to said guide member produces arcuate movement of said pivoted arm, the other portion of said pivoted arm serving as an actuating member for said accessory, said support frame having integral formations thereon adapted to engage with complementary formations on another part of a similar support frame to permit assembly of said support frame with said similar support frame within a motor vehicle instrument panel.
2. A motor vehicle accessory actuator assembly according to claim 1, in which said frame, guide member, slide member and pivoted arm are formed from mouldable synthetic plastics material.
3. A motor vehicle accessory actuator assembly according to claim 1 or 2, in which the guide member is integral with the support frame.
4. A motor vehicle accessory actuator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the guide member is in the form of a rectangular slotted portion of the support frame, and the slide member is formed on opposite sides thereof with the parallel-sided channels in which the longitudinally-extending edge portions of said rectangular slotted frame portion slideably engage.
5. A motor vehicle accessory actuator assembly according to claim 4, in which said slide member is slideably engaged with said slotted portion of the support frame by springing said longitudinally-extending edge
**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.
Claims (9)
1. A motor vehicle accessory actuator assembly comprising a support frame including a guide member, a slide member slideably retained by said guide member, and an arm pivoted on said frame, one end portion of said arm having a pin and slot connection with said slide member such that translational movement of said slide member relative to said guide member produces arcuate movement of said pivoted arm, the other portion of said pivoted arm serving as an actuating member for said accessory, said support frame having integral formations thereon adapted to engage with complementary formations on another part of a similar support frame to permit assembly of said support frame with said similar support frame within a motor vehicle instrument panel.
2. A motor vehicle accessory actuator assembly according to claim 1, in which said frame, guide member, slide member and pivoted arm are formed from mouldable synthetic plastics material.
3. A motor vehicle accessory actuator assembly according to claim 1 or 2, in which the guide member is integral with the support frame.
4. A motor vehicle accessory actuator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the guide member is in the form of a rectangular slotted portion of the support frame, and the slide member is formed on opposite sides thereof with the parallel-sided channels in which the longitudinally-extending edge portions of said rectangular slotted frame portion slideably engage.
5. A motor vehicle accessory actuator assembly according to claim 4, in which said slide member is slideably engaged with said slotted portion of the support frame by springing said longitudinally-extending edge
apart from each other to permit insertion of said edge portions into engagement with said channels.
6. A motor vehicle accessory actuator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the pin of the pin and slot connection is integral with the slide member.
7. A motor vehicle accessory actuator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims in which there is a resilient detent between the slide member and the support frame which is engageable with predetermined portions of said support frame to provide indexing of the slide member with respect to the guide member.
8. A motor vehicle accessory actuator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the disposition of said support frame relative to the accessory to be actuated thereby can be adjucted by means of an adjustable lockable support member for said support frame.
9. A motor vehicle accessory actuator assembly substantially as hereinbefore particularly described and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Priority Applications (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB5308/77A GB1594215A (en) | 1977-02-09 | 1977-02-09 | Motor vehicle accessory actuator assemblies |
| DE19782805517 DE2805517A1 (en) | 1977-02-09 | 1978-02-09 | ACTUATION ARRANGEMENT FOR VEHICLE ACCESSORIES |
| IT47994/78A IT1105295B (en) | 1977-02-09 | 1978-02-09 | DRIVE COMPLEX FOR MOTOR VEHICLE ACCESSORIES |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB5308/77A GB1594215A (en) | 1977-02-09 | 1977-02-09 | Motor vehicle accessory actuator assemblies |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB1594215A true GB1594215A (en) | 1981-07-30 |
Family
ID=9793661
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB5308/77A Expired GB1594215A (en) | 1977-02-09 | 1977-02-09 | Motor vehicle accessory actuator assemblies |
Country Status (3)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| DE (1) | DE2805517A1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB1594215A (en) |
| IT (1) | IT1105295B (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US7544123B2 (en) | 2004-09-09 | 2009-06-09 | Trw Automotive Electronics & Components Gmbh & Co. Kg | Air vent, in particular for a vehicle |
Families Citing this family (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4727766A (en) * | 1986-06-04 | 1988-03-01 | Indak Manufacturing Corp. | Heat regulating mechanism for automotive heating and air conditioning systems |
| DE19523398A1 (en) * | 1995-06-28 | 1997-01-02 | Kammerer Gmbh M | Bowden cable adjustment device, in particular for motor vehicle heating and ventilation |
-
1977
- 1977-02-09 GB GB5308/77A patent/GB1594215A/en not_active Expired
-
1978
- 1978-02-09 IT IT47994/78A patent/IT1105295B/en active
- 1978-02-09 DE DE19782805517 patent/DE2805517A1/en not_active Withdrawn
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US7544123B2 (en) | 2004-09-09 | 2009-06-09 | Trw Automotive Electronics & Components Gmbh & Co. Kg | Air vent, in particular for a vehicle |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| IT1105295B (en) | 1985-10-28 |
| DE2805517A1 (en) | 1978-08-10 |
| IT7847994A0 (en) | 1978-02-09 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSNS | Application of which complete specification have been accepted and published, but patent is not sealed |