GB2529213A

GB2529213A - Door handle

Info

Publication number: GB2529213A
Application number: GB1414406.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Russell Dominic; Ashley Webb
Original assignee: Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK Ltd
Current assignee: Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK Ltd
Priority date: 2014-08-14
Filing date: 2014-08-14
Publication date: 2016-02-17
Also published as: GB201414406D0

Abstract

The installation comprises an attachment formation 16, e.g. a pivot pin, for attaching a door handle 14 to a vehicle door 10; and a handle 14, having a mounting formation 24, e.g. a pivot socket, for movably mounting the handle 14 to the attachment formation 16. The mounting formation 24 allows the handle 14 to move, e.g. pivot, towards a fore end of a vehicle between respective latched and unlatched positions. The handle 14 is connectable to a latch mechanism (44, Fig. 2). Preferred angles of inclination are claimed for the handle 14. The installation may further comprise a biasing element (64, Fig. 3) to bias the handle 14; a track 18 which limits fore and aft positions of the handle 14; a guide, e.g. a channel stud combination 20 40, for guiding the handle 14; and a locking mechanism with button 48 which only allows the handle 14 out of its latched position while pushing the button 48.

Description

DOOR HANDLE

The present invention relates to an interior vehicle door handle and more specifically to an interior door handle installation.

Known door handles include an elongate body with an attachment point at one end so as to S be cantilevered from an interior door panel. A bell crank is provided for attaching the handle to the door. The bell crank is usually vertically aligned, in use, such that the handle body pivots away from the door panel towards the interior of the vehicle.

Various twisting actions of the wrist are required in order for a user sitting next to the door to pull the handle and force the door outwards. In particular, the user may need to bend the wrist towards or away from the forearm anterior and posterior sides. These movements are known as extension and flexion. In addition, a user may need to rotate the arm about the forearm's central axis. Such movement is known as supination and pronation. Finally, the user may need to bend the wrist towards and away from the ulnar and radial bones. This movement is known as radial and ulnar deviation.

Users are often required to assume awkward hand/wrist positions by twisting their wrists in any combination of the above movement types when opening a vehicle door using such handles. Such a problem is even worse for users with weaker grips who can find it difficult to maintain control of the door through its range of motion. Such users may often require two hands in order to open the door, one hand to pull the handle and the second hand to apply a force to the door in order to open it. Even fully abled users sometimes find it difficult to open such door handles since the forearm or elbow is often used in order to apply the outward force on the door which requires an awkward arm position.

It is an object of the present invention to alleviate the aforementioned problems and further

improve on the prior art.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an interior vehicle door handle installation comprising an attachment formation for attaching a door handle to the vehicle door; and a handle having a mounting formation for movably mounting the handle to the attachment formation, the handle being connectable to a latch mechanism, the handle having a latched position wherein the vehicle door is latched by the latch mechanism and an unlatched position wherein the vehicle door is not latched by the latch mechanism, the mounting formation arranged to allow movement of the handle towards a fore end of a vehicle, in-use, between respective latched and unlatched positions.

Constraining the handle for movement in the fore direction of the vehicle means that the wrist of a user seated adjacent to the handle does not require to be twisted in a flexion or extension sense nor in a supination or pronation sense. Limiting the movement of the wrist in this way makes it easier for single handed use of the door handle in combination with opening the door of the vehicle.

The handle may be pivotable between respective latched and unlatched positions.

Pivoting the handle to the vehicle door is a simple way for providing the attachment.

The handle may have an angle of inclination with respect to a vertical axis, in-use, the angle of inclination at the latched position being 300, and the angle of inclination at the unlatched position being 200.

The latched position is preferably 30°, in a range 25° to 300. Above 300 there is a risk of wrist d is corn fort/injury.

The matching unlatched position is preferably 200, in range 150200, to match the aforementioned range of 25° to 300: 10° of movement is always required to achieve 10mm of cable pull (fol a straight pull latch release).

Limiting the angles of inclination in both the latched and unlatched positions to the aforementioned ranges of angles limits the radial deviation of a user's hand when seated adjacent to the handle. By radial deviation we mean twisting the wrist so that the hand moves towards and away from the radius and ulnar. Limiting the movement of the wrist in this way provides further comfort to the user.

The attachment formation and the mounting formation may comprise a pivot pin and complimentary pivot socket.

The attachment formation may include the pivot pin and the mounting formation includes the complimentary pivot socket.

The pivot pin may extend in a pivot axis (P) being substantially horizontal, in-use.

The pivot socket may be provided at one end of the handle. In this way the handle acts as a lever having a relatively long portion of the handle which a user can grab.

The pivot socket may be provided at the upper end of the handle, in-use. Such an arrangement means that the handle is easier to install.

The installation may further comprise a biasing element arranged to bias the handle from the unlatched position to the latched position.

The biasing element biases the handle to return to the latched position so that the user is not required to manually return the handle after opening the door and so the door automatically latches response to a user closing the door after egress of the vehicle.

The biasing element may include a torsion spring.

The spring may be a wrap spring coupled between the pivot pin and the handle.

The wrap spring is easy to install and is a compact component relative to other types of spring.

The installation may further comprise a track having fore and aft shoulders arranged to limit the fore and aft positions of the handle.

Limiting fore and aft movement of the handle body means that the wrist movements of the user are furthel constrained to provide additional comfort. Such fore and aft limitations in position also prevent overstretch of any of the components of the installation and thus reduces wear on the installation.

The installation may further comprise an arm rest, the armrest providing the track.

The track being provided by the arm rest is beneficial as opposed to providing a bespoke component for the track since doors typically come with arm rests.

The installation of any preceding claim may further comprise a guide for guiding the path of the handle between respective latched and unlatched positions.

Guiding the path of the handle in this way further constrains the wrist movements of the user to provide even further comfort.

The guide may comprise a channel arranged on the armrest and the guide further comprises a complimentary stud coupled to the handle.

The channel and the complimentary stud is a relatively easy way to provide the guide.

The installation may further comprise a locking mechanism, the locking mechanism having a locked configuration arranged to lock the handle at the latched position, the locking mechanism also having an unlocked configuration arranged to unlock the handle to allow the handle to move between respective latched and unlatched positions.

Locking the handle in the latched position means that the handle will not open the latch in use when a vehicle experiences a sudden frontal impact of other such force. Such forces might be able to move the handle from the latched position due to the inertia of the handle itself.

S The locking mechanism may comprise a bar-lock, substantially housed within the handle, and a slot, the bar-lock movable from a recessed position at the unlocked configuration and a protruding position at the locked configuration, wherein at the protruding position the bar-lock catches in the slot to lock the handle at the latched position.

The bar-lock and slot is a simple combination in order to provide the locking mechanism.

The bar-lock being substantially has within the handle body minimises the room taken up by the installation.

The locking mechanism may include an actuation mechanism coupled the bar-lock.

The actuation mechanism may include a push button and a bell crank, the bell crank coupling the pushbutton to the bar-lock, said push button being provided for actuating the bar-lock to move between respective protruding and recessed positions.

A push button is preferable in comparison to other actuation means since for example a user driving the vehicle for the first time would readily know that the push button should be used for actuating the handle.

The push button may be provided at the upper end of the handle for actuation by a user's thumb, in-use.

Using the thumb to actuate the push button means that the wrist movement of the user is further constrained in comparison to where the push button may be located on other pads of the handle.

The locking mechanism may comprise a biasing member arranged to bias the locking mechanism towards the locked position.

The biasing member ensures that the locking mechanism has a default position in the locked position such that the handle automatically locks in the latched position upon return from the unlatched position.

The biasing member may comprise a spring.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a vehicle comprising a door and a door handle installation of any preceding claim.

The invention is best described with reference to the accompanying Figures, in which; Figure 1 shows a door handle installation according to an exploded door handle installation according to the present invention; Figure 2 shows a section view of the door handle installation of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a section view of a handle from Figure 1; Figure 4 shows a similar view to Figure 3 of the door handle in the latched position; Figure 5 shows a similar view to Figure 4 of the door handle in an unlatched position; and Figure 6 shows a side view of the door handle from Figure 3 in operation together with an anthropomorphic form shown operating the handle.

With reference to Figure 1, a car has a car door 10 including an interior door panel 12 forming an interior trim. A door-handle 14, together with various parts of the interior door panel 12 combine to form a door-handle installation. The parts of the door panel 12 which form the installation include a pivot pin 16, a track 18, a guide 20, and a slot 22.

The pivot pin 16 is connected to the door panel 12. The pivot pin 16 extends generally inwardly to the interior of the car. In doing so, the pivot pin 16 extends substantially in a horizontal pivot axis (P) in use. The term "substantially in a horizontal pivot axis (P)' encompasses an axis which is inclined so as to accommodate a comfortable grip for the user in terms of supination and pronation angles of twist. The pivot pin 16 is dimensioned so as to be inserted within a pivot socket 24 provided on the handle. The pivot socket 24 is provided at one end of the handle 14, more specifically the upper end of the handle 14 in use. In this way, the pivot pin 16 forms an attachment formation for attaching the door handle 14 to the car door. The pivot socket 24 forms a mounting formation for moveably mounting the handle 14 to the attachment formation.

The handle 14 is hollow and forms a casing for housing various components of the installation. The handle is substantially L shaped. More specifically, the handle has a leg 26 and a foot 28. The leg 26 curves in an upward and fore direction such that there is an acute angle between the leg 26 and the foot 28. The aforementioned pivot socket 24 is provided at the upper end of the leg 26 such that the leg 26 forms a grip. Such an arrangement is advantageous ergonomically since the upward and forward direction provides increased contact between the user's hand and the handle.

The track 18 is formed as a cut away in to an armrest 30 provided as part of the interior door panel 12. The track 18 has an edge extending between the fore and aft most regions. The track is generally U shaped and has a fore shoulder 32 and an aft shoulder 34. As will become apparent by the description below, the fore and aft shoulders 32, 34 are positioned to limit the fore and aft positions of the handle 14. This is achieved by the fore and aft edges of the foot 28 of the handle 14 abutting the fore and aft shoulders 32, 34 respectively. The general U shape of the track allows for the foot 28 of the handle 14 to move freely when in transit between the fore and aft shoulders 32, 34.

The channel 20 is provided in a vertical wall of the track 18. The channel 20 has a curved profile between respective fore and aft stops 36, 38. The channel 20 combines with a stud to form a guide. The stud 40 is connected to the foot 28 of the handle 14. The stud 40 is connected in such a way as to protrude outwardly from the handle 14 in a stud axis (S) which extends in a generally horizontal direction. The stud axis (S) is substantially parallel to the pivot axis (P). In this way, the channel 20 forms a circumferential segment about the pivot axis (P).

With reference to Figure 2, the stud 40 extends through the channel 20 to the extent that the stud 40 provides a connection point for connecting the handle 14 to a cable 42. The cable 42 is routed within the arm rest 30 to a latch mechanism 44. In this way, the handle 14 is connected to the latch mechanism. Latch mechanisms are known in the art and so the latch mechanism 44 in this embodiment is not described in any great detail here. However, in short, the latch mechanism 44 has two configurations. Namely, the latch mechanism 44 has a latched configuration where the car door is prevented from opening and an unlatched configuration where the car door is permitted to open. The handle 14 has a latched position corresponding to the latched configuration of the latch mechanism. In addition, the handle 14 has an unlatched position corresponding to the unlatched configuration of the latch mechanism. The latched position of the handle is when the handle is in the aft most position.

The unlatched position of the handle 14 is when the handle 14 is in the fore most position. In other embodiments, the latched and unlatched positions may be more inwardly positioned away from the aft-most and fore-most positions since the actual position of the handle at which the latch mechanism transitions between each configuration depends on various factors such as the length of the cable 42.

With reference to Figure 1 the slot 22 forms part of a locking mechanism. Now moving to Figure 3, the other parts of the locking mechanism are housed generally within the handle 14 and more specifically within the leg 26 portion of the handle 14. The locking mechanism also includes a bar-lock 46 moveably coupled to an actuation mechanism in the form of a push button 48 and a bell crank 50. The bar-lock 46 is coupled to the push button 48 by means of the bell crank 50. The bell crank 50 comprises a lever 52 which is connected to the interior surface of the handle 14 by a pin 54. The lever 52 is attached to a rod 56 extending from the push button 48. The lever 52 is also connected to one end of the bar-lock 46. In this way, the lever pivots about the pin 54 in response to depression of the push button 48 which in turn pulls the bar-lock 46 inwards. The push button 48 is provided at the upper portion of the leg 26 of the handle 14. The push button 48 is provided on the posterior face of the leg 26. In this way, the push button 48 can be actuated by a user's thumb when seated in an adjacent seat.

The push button 48 is captured within the handle 14 by a casing 58. The rod 56 protrudes through the casing 58 to be housed completely within the handle 14. A return spring 60 is secured within the casing 58 in order to return the push button 48 after depression. A further spring 62 is provided coupling the lever at the push button end to the casing 58. The spring 62 is a coil spring. Accordingly, a biasing member is provided to return the lever to its neutral position after depression of the push button 48.

The bar-lock 46, has a protruding position whereby a portion of the end of the bar-lock 46 protrudes from a hole provided at the posterior base of the handle 14. Upon depression of the push button 48 the bell crank 50 pulls the bar-lock inwards so that a negligible portion of the bar-lock 46 is protruding from the hole in the handle 14. At this position, the bar-lock is at a recessed position. The bar-block 46 is thus moveable from respective protruding and recessed positions by pressing the push button 48.

The locking mechanism is in a locked position when the bar-lock 46 is caught be the slot 22 when the bar-lock 46 is in the protruding position. In an unlocked configuration the bar-lock 46 does not engage the slot.

Still with reference to Figure 3, the installation further comprises torsion spring in the form of a wrap spring 64 wound around the pivot pin 16 (Figure 1). The wrap spring 64 has an arm 66 which engages an interior face of the handle 14. In this way, the wrap spring 64 is coupled between the pivot pin 16 and handle 14. Although any spring could be used, the wrap spring 64 is advantageous due to its compact nature. The torsion spring is arranged to bias the handle 14 from a fore position to an aft position.

With further reference to Figure 3, the handle 14 is represented in a latched position where the locking mechanism is in a locked configuration with the bar-lock 46 in the protruding position and caught in the slot 22.

With reference to Figure 4, a user can unlatch the door by pivoting the handle 14 in a fore direction of the vehicle. The fore direction of the vehicle is represented by direction arrow F. In order to pivot the handle 14 in the fore direction, F, the user first presses the push button 48 as represented by arrow A. Depressing the push button 48 actuates the bell crank 50 and rotates the lever 52 in the direction shown by arrow B. The bar-lock 46 accordingly moves from the protruding position to the recessed position, as represented by arrow C. In this way, the locking mechanism transitions from respective locked to unlocked configurations since the bar-lock 46 is no longer caught in the slot 22. At this point, the handle 14 can move away from the latched position by pivoting in the fore direction of the vehicle.

With reference to Figure 5, the handle is moved in a fore direction to the unlatched position whereby the latch mechanism unlatches the door and allows it to be opened. When moving the handle 14 from the latched to the unlatched positions, the guide guides the path of the handle throughout its travel. The fore shoulder 32 limits the movement of the handle in the fore direction. As noted above, the unlatched position may be anywhere between the fore and aft shoulders 32, 34 and the actual position is dependent on various factors including the configuration of the latch mechanism 44 and the length of the cable 42. When the door has been unlatched and the user is free to egress the vehicle the user will let go of the handle 14. At this point, the spring 60 returns the push button to a protruding state. In turn, the bell crank 50 returns the bar-lock to the protruding position by virtue of the spring 62.

Upon releasing the handle, the wrap spring 64 biases the handle 14 in the aft direction as shown by arrow D from the unlatched position back to the latched position. When the protruding portion of the bar-lock 46 catches within the slot 22 the locking mechanism returns to the locked configuration which in this case is at the latched position of the handle 14. If for any reason the locking mechanism fails, the aft shoulder 34 limits the aft movement of the handle 14. The fore and aft shoulders 32, 34 are dimensions so as to limit the angle of inclination of the handle with respect to the vertical axis to 30° at the latched position and 20° at the unlatched position.

The angle of inclination at the latched position may be between 25° and 30°. A larger angle than 30° may result in wrist discomfort and possible injury to the user. The angle of inclination of the handle 14 at the unlatched position may be between 15° and 20°. The angle of inclination of the handle 14 at the unlatched position is dictated by the angle of inclination at the latched position. Specifically, there should be a 10° angle of travel of the handle 14 between respective latched and unlatched positions. This 10° angle of travel is required to achieve 10mm of cable 42 pull. 10mm of cable pull is required to unlatch most straight pull latch mechanisms 44.

The aforementioned description of the handle 14 limits twisting of a wrist of a user to within the comfortable limits, even for users having weakened joints. This is best represented with reference to Figure 6 which shows a user 68 seated in a seat 70 and the user adjacent to the handle 14 according to the present invention. Angles a, j3 and p represent anthropometric joint angles of a user. By limiting the movement of the user using the aforementioned handle 14, these angles are limited to the following specifications.

Angle a is constrained between 175° to 195°. The angle a is the angle between the hand 72 relative to a central axis of the forearm 74 of the user. Angle I is between 1100 and 1700.

Angle is the forearm angle relative to the central axis of the upper arm 76 of the user.

Angle p is from 30° and 55° relative to the vertical axis, V, defined by a user sitting upright in the seat. Constraining the movement of the user's arm to within these angles prevents the user from twisting their wrist. In particular, the user does not have to rotate the wrist about the central axis of the forearm in a supination or pronation sense. In addition, the wrist does not have to bend towards and away from the anterior and posterior parts of the forearm in an extension or flexion sense. The only movement of the user which is required is in the radial and ulnar deviation direction, namely bending the wrist to and from the radial and ulnar bones of the forearm. This allows a user to maintain a stronger grip on the handle 14. The user can then open the door using the handle 14 alone or by applying a force to the door using the forearm. Using the forearm to push the door open in this way is easy since the arm is not twisted into an awkward position as with the handles known from the prior art.

In additional to the embodiment described above, various alternative embodiments also exist without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the subsequent claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. An interior vehicle door handle installation comprising; An attachment formation for attaching a door handle to the vehicle door; and a handle having a mounting formation for movably mounting the handle to the attachment formation, the handle being connectable to a latch mechanism, the handle having a latched position wherein the vehicle door is latched by the latch mechanism and an unlatched position wherein the vehicle door is not latched by the latch mechanism, the mounting formation arranged to allow movement of the handle towards a fore end of a vehicle, in-use, between respective latched and unlatched positions.
2. The installation of claim 1 wherein the handle is pivotable between respective latched and unlatched positions.
3. The installation of claim 2 wherein the handle has an angle of inclination with respect to a vertical axis, in-use, the angle of inclination at the latched position being between and 30°, and the angle of inclination at the unlatched position being between 15 and 200.
4. The installation of claim 3 wherein the angle of inclination of the handle at the latched position is 300 and the angle of inclination of the handle at the unlatched position is 200.
5. The installation of any preceding claim wherein the attachment formation and the mounting formation comprise a pivot pin and complimentary pivot socket.
6. The installation of claim 5 wherein the attachment formation includes the pivot pin and the mounting formation includes the complimentary pivot socket.
7. The installation of claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the pivot pin extends in a pivot axis (P) being substantially horizontal, in-use.
8. The installation of any of claims 5 to 7 wherein the pivot socket is provided at one end of the handle.
9. The installation of claim 8 wherein the pivot socket is provided at the upper end of the handle, in-use.
10. The installation of any preceding claim further comprising a biasing element arranged to bias the handle from the unlatched position to the latched position.
11. The installation of claim 10 wherein the biasing element includes a torsion spring.
12. The installation of claim 11 wherein the spring is a wrap spring coupled between the pivot pin and the handle.
13. The installation of any preceding claim further comprising a track having fore and aft shoulders arranged to limit the fore and aft positions of the handle.
14. The installation of claim 13 further comprising an arm rest, the armrest providing the track.
15. The installation of any preceding claim further comprising a guide for guiding the path of the handle between respective latched and unlatched positions.
16. The installation of claim 15 and 14 wherein the guide comprises a channel arranged on the armrest and the guide further comprises a complimentary stud coupled to the handle.
17. The installation of any preceding claim further comprising a locking mechanism, the locking mechanism having a locked configuration arranged to lock the handle at the latched position, the locking mechanism also having an unlocked configuration arranged to unlock the handle to allow the handle to move between respective latched and unlatched positions.
18. The installation of claim 17 wherein the locking mechanism comprises a bar-lock, substantially housed within the handle, and a slot, the bar-lock movable from a recessed position at the unlocked configuration and a protruding position at the locked configuration, wherein at the protruding position the bar-lock catches in the slot to lock the handle at the latched position.
19. The installation of claim 18 wherein the locking mechanism includes an actuation mechanism coupled the bar-lock.
20. The installation of claim 19 wherein the actuation mechanism includes a push button and a bell crank, the bell crank coupling the pushbutton to the bar-lock, said push button being provided for actuating the bar-lock to move between respective protruding and recessed positions.
21. The installation of claim 20 wherein the push button is provided at the upper end of the handle for actuation by a user's thumb, in-use.
22. The installation of any of claims 17 to 21 wherein the locking mechanism comprises a biasing member arranged to bias the locking mechanism towards the locked position.
23. The installation of claim 22 wherein the biasing member comprises a spring.
24. A vehicle comprising a door and a door handle installation of any preceding claim.
25. An interior vehicle door handle installation as described substantially herein with reference to the accompanying figures.
26. A vehicle as describes substantially herein with reference to the accompanying figures.