A VEHICLE UTILITY ARRANGEMENT

Abstract: A vehicle utility arrangement in which a clip member (1) is secured to a rail or stanchion within a motor vehicle cabin in order to present mounting means for securing a utility assembly such as a cigarette ashtray within that cabin. The clip member (1) in association with a mounting element (11) providing a spindle (6), a carousel member (11) and a follower member (7) through which relative rotation can be achieved between stable positions. The carousel member (11) and the follower member (7) including reciprocal detent components (6, 16) to provided the stable positions for orientation of a utility assembly coupled to the mounting element (11).

Description: A VEHICLE UTILITY ARRANGEMENT The present invention relates to a vehicle utility arrangement and more particularly to an arrangement whereby a range of different utility assemblies can be secured within the arrangement as required by the owner/occupant of a motor vehicle. An inherent problem with regard to motor vehicle manufacture and design is provision of utilities within the vehicle which are desired by some occupants/owners whilst only of marginal interest to other owners/occupants. The typical solution is provide a range of option packages which include different levels of utility and trim for the vehicle and allow the purchaser of a vehicle to thereby specific those utility requirements. Unfortunately, such packaging, of utility options and trim in itself requires subjective judgements by the vehicle manufacturer and may disproportionately add to cost both to the manufacturer and the purchaser of the vehicle. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle utility arrangement in which a wide range of utility assemblies can be located within the cabin of a motor vehicle as required. In accordance with the present invention there is provided a vehicle utility arrangement comprising a clip member and a mounting element, the clip member being configured to engage a rail or stanchion within a vehicle cabin whilst the mounting element is associated with a utility assembly, the clip member and the mounting element defining concentrically therebetween a spindle, a carousel member and a follower member arranged to allow relative rotation between the clip member and the mounting element between stable positions determined by reciprocal detent engagement between the follower member and the carousel member and thus in use the relative positioning on the utility assembly upon the rail or the stanchion within the vehicle cabin. Preferably, the clip member sufficiently encompasses the rail or stanchion within a vehicle cabin to provide a robust coupling therebetween. Furthermore, and alternatively, a clip member could be associated with a band member to completely encompass the rail or stanchion member to facilitate robust coupling. The contact surface of the clip member in abutment with a rail or stanchion within a vehicle cabin could include a foam surface or roughened means to facilitate friction grip between the rail or stanchion and the clip member. The stable positions between the clip member and the mount element could be additionally lockable to prevent further relative rotation without specific release of that lock, ie. button latch extending between aligned apertures in the spindle and the carousel. The utility assembly could comprise a cigarette ashtray or a credit card holder or an occasional item container, eg. for sunglasses or a mobile phone holster or a compact disk store. The spindle could be splayed in order to allow snap engagement with the carousel member. The carousel member in association with the spindle and/or the follower member could include stop elements arranged to limit the range of rotation between the spindle and carousel. The surfaces between the spindle and the carousel member would be formed from a suitable material to allow easy rotation through bearing contact. The carousel member generally includes a plurality of grooves in a circumferential surface and these grooves are engaged by an opposed pip detent of the follower member to define the respective stable positions. The carousel member preferably includes an inner skirt and an outer skirt with the follower member arranged to detent engage the inner skirt and retained in such engagement by the outer skirt limiting radial deformation of the follower element. An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a pictorial front perspective of a clip member; Figure 2 is a pictorial front perspective of a mounting element; Figure 3 is a pictorial rear perspective of the mounting element depicted in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a front perspective view of the clip member illustrated in Figure 1 coupled with the mounting element illustrated in Figures 2 and 3; and Figure 5 is a front perspective view of an ashtray utility assembly. As indicated previously, within a motor vehicle it is highly desirable to provide a range of utility assemblies to improve and augment the more functional features of the vehicle. Thus, a range of utility assemblies can be included and for example a cigarette ashtray, a credit card holder, a mobile phone holster and an occasional article storage container can be located within a vehicle cabin for occupant convenience. Clearly, provision of such utility assemblies within a vehicle can require significant design variation to allow integration into the dashboard facing or door panels etc. Such consideration make provision of a wide range of utility assemblies within a vehicle difficult. Furthermore, accommodation of different types or grades of utility assembly for substantially the same purpose but with different dimensional or accommodational requirements is a considerable design luxury. In accordance with the present invention, a vehicle utility arrangement is described in which a rail or stanchion within a vehicle's cabin accommodation is utilised to allow mounting through a clip member and mounting element which may be associated with a wide range of utility assemblies. Essentially, the combination of the clip member and the mounting element ensures robust incorporation of the utility assembly within the vehicle along with variation in angular presentation as required by the particular utility assembly or occupant. In Figure 1 a pictorial front perspective elevation of a clip member in accordance with the present invention is depicted. This clip member 1 comprises a bowed component 2 having wing ends 3, 4 arranged to engage a rail or stanchion of a motor vehicle cabin. However, the shape of the clip member 1 is substantially determined by the rail or stanchion to which it is secured. It will also be understood that the member 1 could be flexible to adapt to the rail or stanchion cross-section. Typically, these winged ends 3, 4 will be in compressive engagement with the vehicle rail or stanchion in order to achieve an interference coupling which is sufficiently resilient to prevent movement under vehicle movement vibration and utility assembly load. The expected rail or stanchion is defined by the perimeter of the bowed component 2 and the broken lines 5 illustrated in Figure 1. It will also be understood that a band could be provided between the ends of winged sections 3, 4 in order to further facilitate compressive engagement with a rail or stanchion of the vehicle to augment position or security of the clip member 1 upon that rail or stanchion. The band or buckle would extend from upturned lips at the end of each wing section 3, 4. Upon an outer surface of the bowed component 2 a spigot 6 and a follower member 7 are secured in a concentric relationship. The spigot 6 acts as a bearing upon which a mounting element, described later, can rotate. Thus, the spigot 6 includes a bearing surface 8 and a splayed end 9 to allow snap retention of the mounting element. The follower member 7 may also include bearing surfaces but principally presents a pip detent 10 for engagement with the mounting element. It will be appreciated that the spigot 6 and the follower element 7 are generally presented in an outward direction. Thus, access to the spigot 6 and follower member 7 is relatively unobstructed and so facilitates easy coupling with the mounting element described later. In Figures 2 and 3 a mounting element 11 is illustrated respectively in pictorial front and rear perspective views. It will be appreciated that the rear view shown in Figure 3 will be that generally towards the interior of the vehicle and so a mounting surface 12 will be utilised to secure the mounting element 11 to any utility assembly. Furthermore, the mounting element 11 could be integral within any such utility assembly or adhered to it or fastened to it in any appropriate manner. Essentially, the functionality of the mounting element 11 is determined by an inner skirt 14 and an outer skirt 15. The inner skirt 14 includes grooves 16 which engage the pip detent 10 of the follower member 7. The outer skirt 15 acts to constrain radial deformation or deflection of the follower member 7 to ensure good presentation of the detent pip 10 for engagement with the groove 16. It will be appreciated that rather than the groove 16, orifices or apertures could be provided within the inner skirt 14 such that the pip detent 10 is relieved into engagement with these apertures or recesses in order to achieve the same detent engagement between the pip detent 10 and the inner skirt 14. It will be appreciated by appropriate positioning of the grooves 16 that various accents and orientations of the mounting element 11 relative to the spigot 6 and therefore the clip member 1 can be achieved. Thus, with the clip member 1 secured to a rail or stanchion of a motor vehicle cabin and the mounting element 11 secured to a utility assembly, it will be appreciated that the assembly can be robustly mounted within the motor vehicle cabin. However, it will also be understood that as the clip member 1 is generally made from a plastics material, the spindle 6 and/or follower member 7 can be arranged to be relatively frangible upon impact such that during a motor vehicle collision the utility assembly secured therethrough in the motor vehicle cabin can become more flexible or deformable and therefore present less of a so-called hard point which may cause injury to an occupant of a vehicle. The mounting element 11 is coupled to the spigot 6 by locating a central aperture 17 over the splayed end 9 such that a compressive force in the direction of arrow head A compresses the splayed end 9 whereupon the spigot 6 passes through the aperture 17 until the compression upon the splayed end 9 is relieved upon leaving the aperture 17. Thus, the end 9 then engages the periphery shoulder of the aperture 17 to secure the member and element 11 together. It will be appreciated that the aperture 17 will typically also include a bearing surface 18 for association with the bearing surface 8 of the spindle 6. It will also be understood that the follower member 7 and in particular the pip detent 10 will also either engage a groove 16 on a circumferential surface of the inner skirt 14 during such assembly of the mounting element 11 to the spindle 6. In any event, rotation of the mounting element 11, with an associated utility assembly or not will bring the pip detent 10 into engagement with one of the grooves 16 in the required angular position. Engagement between the pip detent 10 and the grooves 16 ensures stability for those angular positions and relationships between the spindle 6 and the mounting element 11. Figure 4 illustrates in front perspective view, the clip member 1 coupled to the mounting element 11. It will be noted that the coupling between the member 1 and the element 11 is secured through the splayed end 9. Furthermore, rotation in the direction of arrow head B is possible about the spindle 6 (not shown). However, stable positions are only achieved at suitable relationships in which the pip detent 10 and one of the grooves 16 reciprocally engage. Although the splayed end 9 robustly couples the clip member 1 and the mounting element 11, it will be appreciated that through use of an appropriate tool or other means for compression of the splayed end 9 that the mounting element 11 could be disengaged from the spindle 6. Those skilled in the art will appreciated that as an alternative to the embodiment described with regard to Figures 1 to 4, that the spindle could be secured in the mounting element whilst the clip member includes the skirt with grooves to engage a reciprocal detent, that is to say vice versa to that illustrated and described with regard to Figures 1 to 4. The range of utility assemblies that can be accommodated by the present arrangement is relatively wide and it will be appreciated that some utility assemblies must be secured in particular orientations in order to be effective and/or safe despite the wishes of the vehicle occupant. Thus, further in accordance with the present invention, it will be appreciated that the range of rotation between the mounting element 11 and the clip member 1 may be limited. Such range limitation may be achieved through positioning of stop elements between the inner skirt 14 and the outer skirt 15 such that the follower member 7 cannot rotate beyond these stop elements. Furthermore, where only one position is acceptable, the stop elements may substantially prevent location such that a combination of the stop element and the detent pip 10 engaging a groove 16 provides robust and stable positioning of the mounting element 11 about the spindle 6 and therefore the clip member 1. By such means the appropriate orientation of a utility assembly secured through the mounting element 11 can be ensured. The stop members may be pegs appropriately moveable as required to adjust rotation range or fixed for permanent limitation. As an alternative to providing stop members within the mounting element between the inner skirt 14 and the outer skirt 15, it will be appreciated that specific locking at a particular position may be achieved. Such locking may be through aligned orifices in the member 11 and the bowed component 2, or through the member 11 then follower member 7 and possibly the spindle 6, such that a dowel can be located to maintain such positional orientation between the clip member 1 and the element 11 with reciprocal orientation between the rail/stanchion and any utility assembly secured to the mounting element 11. Alternatively, the dowel could be replaced with a grub screw which extends through the aligned orifices to secure the relational position required. Finally, a push button arrangement could be used to push an elongate element through the aligned apertures at the required stable position such that this element bridged outer skirt 15, the follower member 7 and the inner skirt 14 in order to securely lock that position. As indicated previously, a wide range of utility assemblies can be secured through the present arrangement within a motor vehicle cabin. These assemblies include a cigarette ashtray, a CD storage device, a credit card storage device, an occasional item, ie. sunglasses, storage container or a mobile phone holster. In Figure 5 an example of such an accessory assembly in the form of a cigarette ashtray is depicted in pictorial front perspective. The utility assembly comprises a base section 21 which is secured through a hub 22 to a mounting element in accordance with the present invention. The base section 21 can be orientated through rotation of the mounting element 11 as required by the occupant of that vehicle but will normally be such that a lip edge 23 is substantially parallel so that a cigarette rest 24 is appropriately orientated to hold the cigarette during motor vehicle driving motions. Opposed to the hub 22 is a shield element 25. Thus, a cover element 26 may be rotated about the hub 22 and shield element 25 in the direction of arrow head C in order to close the cigarette ashtray when not required. It will be appreciated that not every motor vehicle occupant or owner requires a cigarette ashtray. Thus, in accordance with the present invention, the utility arrangement through the spindle 8, follower 7 and mounting element 11 could be utilised to secure an alternative, more appropriate utility assembly required by the current occupant of the vehicle or the owner of that vehicle. Furthermore, as the clip member 1 can be readily removed from a motor vehicle cabin rail or stanchion, the whole infrastructure for provision of the utility assembly within the vehicle can be removed when not required without substantially altering the aesthetic appeal of the interior of the vehicle or necessitating radical alteration of that interior. It will be appreciated that it is of benefit with regard to the present invention if the utility assemblies used also utilise the rotary nature of the coupling between the mounting element 11 and the clip member 1. Thus, typically the utility assemblies will be concentrically mounted about the spindle 6 in order to allow the occupant best access to that utility assembly. For example, with a compact disk CD storage device a hinged clamp arrangement will be provided with one side of the clamp secured to the clip member 1 whilst the other side may hinge into the vehicle such that there are a concertina of slots within which compact disks can be located. Similarly, a credit card storage device may comprise a circular disc within which slots are located to accommodate respective credit cards. The disc being rotatable about the spindle 6 in order to ensure most convenient presentation of those credit cards to an occupant of the vehicle. Finally, a mobile phone holster may be secured to the clip member 1 such that the orientation of a mobile phone held within the holster can be adjusted to facilitate "hands- free" operation, ie. when not in use the mobile phone may be substantially perpendicular, whilst in use the microphone end of the phone angled through rotation of the holster towards the occupant of the motor vehicle wishing to use the mobile phone. As also indicated above, the present utility arrangement could be used to secure an occasional storage bin for sunglasses, etc, or a receptacle for waste, etc. In such circumstances it will be appreciated that the mounting member 11 secured to the clip 1 will act as a convenient hook-like mount within the vehicle to which storage bins, or possibly flimsy carrier bags, can be attached to ensure they remain in an upright orientation.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A vehicle utility arrangement comprising a clip member and a mounting element, the clip member being configured to engage a rail or a stanchion within a vehicle cabin whilst the mounting element may be associated with a utility assembly, the clip member and the mounting element defining concentrically therebetween a spindle, a carousel member and a follower member arranged to allow rotation between the clip member and the mounting element between stable positions determined by reciprocal detent engagement between the follower member and the carousel member and thus in use relative positioning of the utility assembly upon the rail or stanchion within the vehicle cabin. 2. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the clip member includes wing sections arranged to sufficiently encompass the rail or the stanchion to provide robust interference coupling between the clip member and that rail or stanchion. 3. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the clip member includes a band in order to ensure that the rail or the stanchion is completely encompassed by the clip member in use. 4. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the clip member has a surface for contact with the rail or stanchion which facilitates additional frictional grip therebetween. 5. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the spindle has a splayed end to allow snap coupling to the carousel member. 6. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the arrangement includes stop members to limit relative rotation between the clip member and the mounting member as required. 7. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the carousel member includes a plurality of grooves in a circumferential surface to engage an opposed pip detent of the follower member to define the respective stable positions between the clip member and the mounting element. 8. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the carousel member includes an inner skirt and an outer skirt with the follower member arranged in use to be in detent engagement with the inner skirt whilst retained in such engagement by the outer skirt limiting radial deformation of the follower member away from the inner skirt. 9. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least one of the stable positions may be locked through an appropriate dowel or grub screw extended between aligned of orifices in the clip member and the mount element. 10. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the utility assembly may be a cigarette ashtray or a credit card storage device or occasional item storage bin or a mobile phone holster or a compact disk storage device. 11. A vehicle utility arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 12. A motor vehicle including a vehicle utility arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim.

Inventors: HUNTER TONY ALEXANDER, MACANDREW KENNETH DOUGLAS, HUNTER, TONY, ALEXANDER, MACANDREW, KENNETH, DOUGLAS
Applicants: HUNTER TONY ALEXANDER, MACANDREW KENNETH DOUGLAS, ROVER GROUP, HUNTER, TONY, ALEXANDER, MACANDREW, KENNETH, DOUGLAS, ROVER GROUP LIMITED
Application year: 1999
Main classification: B60R7
IPC codes: B60R7, B60R11