GB2445741A

GB2445741A - Lid assembly for a motor vehicle storage cavity

Info

Publication number: GB2445741A
Application number: GB0701155A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Ovens
Original assignee: Ford Global Technologies LLC
Current assignee: Ford Global Technologies LLC
Priority date: 2007-01-22
Filing date: 2007-01-22
Publication date: 2008-07-23
Anticipated expiration: 2027-01-22
Also published as: GB2445741B; GB0701155D0

Abstract

A motor vehicle storage cavity has a container 20 including a body with a bottom wall 24, at least two side walls 22, 23 and a neck wall 13 having an opening 14. The storage cavity further comprises a lid assembly 30 moveable within the container 20 between open and closed positions. The lid assembly 30 comprises a lid frame 34 rotatable about a first pivot axis 27 between an open position and a closed position, a lid 31 provided over the lid frame 34 and hinged by means of a second pivot axis 28 to the lid frame 34 and a drive arrangement 73, 70 configured to cause the lid 31 to move in an intermediate position in which the lid 31 moved substantially vertically relative to the neck wall 13 and subsequently to pivot altogether the lid 31 and the lid frame 34 about the pivot axis 27 towards the open position without risking to contact the neck wall 13 and ensuring a minimum gap between the edge of the lid and the edge of the aperture towards which the lid assembly pivots.

Description

A lid assembly for a motor vehicle storage cavity The present invention

relates to a lid assembly for a motor vehicle receptacle and in particular, but not exclusively, to a lid assembly for a storage cavity located on a centre console which is arranged between the two front seats of the vehicle.

Many vehicles include a centre console disposed between the driver and passenger seats in the front passenger compartment of the vehicle. These consoles typically comprise a console base, a storage cavity formed in the console base to retain items during travel and a generally rectangular lid pivotally connected to the console base. The lid is coupled with the console base so as to be moveable within the storage cavity between an open position in which the contents of the storage cavity is easily accessible and a closed position.

It is known to cover the lid and the upper surface of the console with an aesthetically pleasing covering, such as veneer or other suitable materials to enhance the aesthetic appearance of the interior. However, where coverings are added to the lid and the console and that it is required that the lid in its closed position is flush with the outer surface of the console the gap between the lid and the upper surface of the console has to be increased to accommodate these, thus forming a significant gap with is not perceived by the customer as visually pleasing.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a lid assembly that overcomes or alleviates the above problem According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a lid assembly for a motor vehicle storage cavity, the storage cavity comprising a container having a body with a bottom wall, at least two side walls and a neck wall defining an opening, the lid assembly being moveable within the container so as to open or close the opening and comprising a lid frame rotatable about a first pivot axis between an open position and a closed position, a lid provided over the lid frame and hinged about a second pivot axis to the lid frame and a drive arrangement configured to cause the lid to move in an intermediate position in which the lid is moved substantially vertically relative to the neck and subsequently to pivot the lid and the lid frame together about the first pivot axis towards the open position without contacting the neck wall.

Preferably, the drive arrangement includes at least one guide channel arranged in use on one of the side walls and conformed to slidably guide a guide pin secured to the lid.

Preferably, the lid and the neck wall have an outer surface in which the drive arrangement further includes a biasing means arranged to maintain the outer surface of the lid in its closed position flush with the outer surface of the neck wall.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a centre console for a motor vehicle having a container and a lid assembly, the lid assembly being in accordance with the first aspect of the invention.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: -Fig.1 is a schematic perspective view of centre console having a storage cavity and a lid assembly in accordance with the present invention; Fig.2 is a schematic cross-sectional view through the centre console shown in Fig.1 taken along the line Il-Il; and Figs.3 to 5 are views similar to Fig.2 showing the motion of the lid assembly towards its open position.

With reference to the drawings, there is shown a centre console 10 for a motor vehicle disposed between the driver and passenger seats in the front passenger compartment of the vehicle. The centre console 10 has, in a conventional way, two side walls 11, a front wall 12 and an upper or neck wall 13 forming a console base. The upper wall 13 of the console base is provided with an aperture 14 having a substantially rectangular shape and enabling access to a storage cavity formed within the console. The storage cavity is defined by two side walls 21, a front wall 22, a rear wall 23 and a lower wall 24 forming a container 20. This container 20 is closed by a flap or lid assembly 30 which is moveable within the container between a closed position (Fig.2) and an open position (Fig.4) allowing access to the storage cavity.

As can best be seen Fig.1, the neck wall 13 of the console base can also support a rotary knob 40 which can operate the selection of a transmission gear mode or the selection of different vehicle functions such as radio, navigation etc. The lid assembly 30 comprises a lid 31 and a lid frame 32 which is generally shaped as an inverted U, having a base plate 33 extended downwards by two legs 34 each of which is secured to the corresponding front wall 22 or rear wall 23 of the container 20, by means of a pivot 26 so that the lid frame 32 can pivot about a longitudinal axis (or first pivot axis) 27 parallel to the longitudinal axis of the centre console between a closed position and an open position. The base plate 33 is lying in its closed position at least in substantial part in a plane inclined at an angle X relative to a plane containing the neck wall 13 of the console base. The lid 31 and the neck wall 13 are covered with a covering layer, in this example a veneer layer 31 a, 1 3a.

The lid 31 is secured and sprung loaded towards its closed position to the lid frame 32 by means of a pivot 28 so that the lid 31 can pivot about an axis (or second pivot axis) 29 which is parallel to the axis 27 of the lid frame 32 and offset from the latter axis 27 to permit the edge 50 of the lid 31 adjacent to fixed part of the neck wall 13 towards an intermediate position (Fig. 3) in which the lid 31 pivots to move substantially vertically at the start of the motion of the lid 31 as will further explained below. It will be appreciated that the angle X is determined in such a way that when the lid 31 with its covering layer 31a abuts the base plate 33, the lid 31 and the lid frame 32 can be pivoted about the pivot 26 without contacting the lower edge 60 of the neck wall 13. The lid 31 is biased towards its closed position to the lid frame by biasing means, such as a spring 62.

The rear wall 22 and the front wall 23 of the container are provided with a slot 70.

Each slot 70 comprises two distinct sections 71,72, one section 71 having substantially straight shape and another section 72 having an arcuate shape and is conformed to slidably receive a guide pin 73 secured to the corresponding end of the lid 31, forming hence a drive arrangement for moving the lid within the container 20.

In a known way, the lid frame 32 is provided with a biasing means (not shown), such as a spring, ensuring the automatic closing of the lid frame 32 after pulling the lid 31 towards its closed position. The spring is, for example, a hairpin spring arranged around the pivot of the lid frame.

The lid frame 32 is also provided with a damper arrangement for damping the opening movement of the lid frame 32. The damper arrangement is arranged on one side of the leg 34 and comprises an arcuate rack 80 fixed relative to the lid frame. The rack 80 has teeth to mesh with the teeth of a rotary damper (not shown).

Operation of the lid assembly will now be described.

As seen in Fig.1, the lid 31 is in its closed position, i.e. covering the storage cavity, and is retained in this position by the guide pins 73 each of which abuts the upper end of the straight section 71 of the slots 70. To open the lid 31 the user pushes the edge 50 of the lid assembly 30 downwards, pivoting the lid 31 around the pivot 28, thereby moving the edge 50 of the lid 31 a substantially vertically, until the lid 31 abuts the base plate 33. In this latter position the guide pins 73 reach the arcuate section 72 of the slot 70 whereupon the lid 31 and the lid frame 32 pivot around the pivot 26 together, the guide pins 73 sliding within the arcu ate section 72 of the slot to maintain the lid 31 and the base plate 33 in close contact.

When the lid 31 is pivoted back to its closed position the hairpin spring arranged around the pivot 26 moves the guide pins 73 back within the arcuate section 72 of the slot until reaching the straight section 71 of the slot 70. In this latter position the spring 62 located between the lid 31 and the base plate 33 drives the lid 31 to its closed position where the upper surface of the lid 31 in this case the upper surface 31b of the covering layer 31a is flush with the upper surface 13a of the neck waIl 13. It will be appreciated that the damper arrangement in a conventional way damps the movement of the lid in order to moderate the effect of the biasing force exerted by the hairpin spring.

It is thus understood in the reading of description above, that the lid assembly according to the present invention allows in a simple manner to keep as minimum as possible, i.e. between 2 and 3 mm, the gap G between the edge of the lid and the edge of the aperture towards which the lid assembly pivots.

Claims

1. A lid assembly for a motor vehicle storage cavity, the storage cavity comprising a container having a body with a bottom wall, at least two side walls and a neck wall defining an opening, the lid assembly being moveable within the container so as to open or close the opening and comprising a lid frame rotatable about a first pivot axis between an open position and a closed position, a lid provided over the lid frame and hinged about a second pivot axis to the lid frame and a drive arrangement configured to cause the lid to move in an intermediate position in which the lid is moved substantially vertically relative to the neck and subsequently to pivot the lid and the lid frame together about the first pivot axis towards the open position without contacting the neck wall.

2. A lid assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the drive arrangement includes at least one guide channel arranged in use on one of the side walls and conformed to slidably guide a guide pin secured to the lid.

3. A lid assembly as claimed in claim 2, the lid and the neck wall having an outer surface in which the drive arrangement further includes a biasing means arranged to maintain the outer surface of the lid in its closed position flush with the outer surface of the neck wall.

4. A lid assembly as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3 in which the guide channel includes a slot comprises two distinct sections, one section having substantially straight shape and another section having an arcuate shape.

5. A lid assembly as claimed in any in any preceding claim in which the first pivot and the second pivot are parallel and offset from each other.

6. A lid assembly as claimed in any in any preceding claim in which the lid frame is generally shaped as an inverted U, having a base plate extended downwards by two legs each of which is secured to the corresponding side wall of the container, the base plate lying in the closed position of the lid assembly at least in a substantial part in a plane inclined at an angle X relative to a plane containing the neck wall so as to allow the lid to move towards its intermediate position.

7. A lid assembly as claimed in any in any preceding claim in which the lid frame is provided with a biasing means assisting the closing of the lid frame towards its closed position.

8. A lid assembly as claimed in any in any preceding claim in which the lid frame is also provided with a damper arrangement for damping the opening movement of the lid.

9. A centre console for a motor vehicle having a container and a lid assembly substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.