Abstract:
A lid opener for use in a vehicle comprises a base member secured to a vehicle body. A control lever is pivotally connected to the base member. A rear portion of the control lever is connected through a wire to a latch mechanism of a lid member. The control lever is capable of canceling a latched condition of the latch mechanism when pivoted in a normal direction from a rest position to a work position. A spring is used for biasing the control lever to assume the rest position. A first stopper structure includes the rear portion of the control lever and a part of the base member. The rear portion is kept in contact with the part of the base member when the control lever assumes the rest position. A second stopper structure includes a part of the control lever and a stopper member which is defined by either one of the vehicle floor and the base member. The part of the control lever is brought into abutment with the stopper member when, upon receiving a marked stress, the control lever is pivoted from the rest position in a direction opposite to the normal direction.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates in general to lid openers for use in motor vehicles for remotely controlling or unlatching a lid, such as a filler cap, a trunk lid or the like. More specifically, the present invention relates to the lid openers of a double lever type having two control levers for remotely controlling or unlatching two lid members respectively. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     In order to clarify the task of the present invention, one conventional lid opener will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11 of the accompanying drawings. 
     As is seen from FIG. 10, the lid opener  100  shown is of a double lever type. The lid opener  100  is arranged on a vehicle floor “F”, more specifically, on a base member  102  tightly held by a cross member  104  of the vehicle body. 
     The lid opener  100  comprises two, viz., longer and shorter control levers  106  and  108  which are pivotally disposed about a common shaft  110  held by the base member  102 . The two control levers  106  and  108  have rear ends  106   a  and  108   a  from which respective wires  112  ( 114 ) extend to respective latch mechanisms of a trunk lid and a filler cap. The two control levers  106  and  108  are biased to assume horizontal rest positions by respective biasing springs  116  and  118 . When the longer control lever  106  is pulled up against the biasing force of the spring  116 , the wire  112  is driven in a direction to cancel a latched condition of the latch mechanism of the trunk lid. Upon this, the trunk lid becomes unlatched and thus can be opened. While, when the shorter control lever  108  is pulled up against the force of the spring  118 , the wire  114  is pulled to unlatch the filler cap. 
     For ease with which the two control levers  106  and  108  are manipulated by a driver, such lid opener  100  is arranged just beside the driver&#39;s seat, that is, in a limited space defined between the driver&#39;s seat and the driver&#39;s door. 
     However, due to inherency originating from the position where the lid opener  100  is located, it often happens that the lid opener  100  is strongly stepped on by the driver at his or her ingress and egress into and from the vehicle cabin, which tends to cause damages of the control levers  106  and  108 . 
     For eliminating such drawbacks, various measures have been hitherto proposed, which are, for example, covering the lid opener  100  with a cover member, using a much thicker metal plate as the material of the control levers  106  and  108 , locating the lid opener  100  away from such limited space, etc.,. However, even these measures have failed to provide users with satisfaction. In fact, such measures tend to induce a bulky, costly and/or ill-handy lid opener. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a lid opener which is free of the above-mentioned drawbacks. 
     According to the present invention, there is provided a lid opener which is so constructed that when a marked stress is applied to a control lever of the lid opener due to accidental stepping by a passenger, the control lever becomes supported by at least three supporting points thereby minimizing the force actually applied to each point. Thus, undesired deformation and damage of the control lever is suppressed. 
     According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lid opener for use in a vehicle having a body and a floor. The lid opener comprises a base member adapted to be secured to the body; a control lever pivotally connected to the base member, the control lever including front and rear portions which are defined with respect to the pivoted portion, the rear portion being connected through a power transmitting member to a latch mechanism of a lid member, the control lever being capable of canceling a latched condition of the latch mechanism when pivoted in a normal direction from a rest position to a work position; biasing means for biasing the control lever to assume the rest position; a first stopper structure including the rear portion of the control lever and a part of the base member, the rear portion being kept in contact with the part of the base member when the control lever assumes the rest position; and a second stopper structure including a part of the control lever and a stopper member which is defined by either one of the vehicle floor and the base member, the part of the control lever being brought into abutment with the stopper member when, upon receiving a marked stress, the control lever is pivoted from the rest position in a direction opposite to the normal direction. 
     According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lid opener unit for use in a vehicle. The vehicle has a hollow cross member mounted on a vehicle floor, and the hollow cross member has in a wall thereof an opening. The lid opener unit includes a base member installed in and secured to the hollow cross member near the opening; a control lever pivotally connected to the base member, the control lever including front and rear portions which are defined with respect to the pivoted portion, the front portion being exposed to the outside through the opening, the rear portion being connected through a power transmitting member to a latch mechanism of a lid member, the control lever being capable of canceling a latched condition of the latch mechanism when pivoted in a normal direction from a rest position to a work position; biasing means for biasing the control lever in a direction to assume the rest position; a first stopper structure including the rear portion of the control lever and a part of the base member, the rear portion being kept in contact with the part of the base member when the control lever assumes the rest position; and a second stopper structure including a part of the control lever and a stopper member which is defined by either one of the vehicle floor and the base member, the part of the control lever being brought into abutment with the stopper member when, upon receiving a marked stress, the control lever is pivoted from the rest position in a direction opposite to the normal direction. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a view of the interior of a vehicle cabin, showing a double lever type lid opener of a first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a front view of the double lever type lid opener of the first embodiment; 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of the double lever type lid opener of the first embodiment; 
     FIG. 4 is view similar to FIG. 2, but showing a condition wherein control levers are pulled up; 
     FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but showing a condition wherein the control levers are trampled; 
     FIG. 6 is a front view of a double lever type lid opener which is a second embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is art enlarged view of the portion indicated by an arrow “VII” in FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is a plan view of the double lever type lid opener of the second embodiment; 
     FIG. 9 is a partial and enlarged perspective view of a base member employed in the lid opener of the second embodiment; 
     FIG. 10 is a front view of a conventional double lever type lid opener; and 
     FIG. 11 is a plan view of the conventional double lever type lid opener. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 to  5 , there is shown a double lever type lid opener  100 A which is a first embodiment of the present invention. 
     As is seen from FIG. 1, a major section of the lid opener  100 A is installed in a hollow cross member  10  of a vehicle body at a position between a side sill  12  and a driver&#39;s seat  14 . 
     In the following, directional terms, such as “right”, “left”, “front”, “rear”, “rightward”, “leftward”, “forward”, “rearward” and the like are to be understood with respect to the driver sitting on the seat  14 . 
     Although not shown in the drawing, a front right door (viz., driver&#39;s door) is arranged on the side sill  12 , which closes and opens a door opening defined above the side sill  12 . In the illustrated embodiment, a front portion of the driver&#39;s seat  14  is disposed on the cross member  10  through a pair of seat sliders  16 . Denoted by reference “F” is a floor of the vehicle. 
     The hollow cross member  10  is formed at its front wall with a rectangular opening  18  through which front portions of the control levers  20  and  22  are projected forwardly. Thus, a driver sitting on the seat  14  can easily handle the control levers  20  and  22  only by extending down his or her right hand toward the levers  20  and  22 . Denoted by numeral  24  is a base member of the lid opener  10 A, which is secured via a bolt  26  to the cross member  10  for supporting essential parts of the double lever type lid opener  100 A. 
     As is seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, the lid opener  100 A comprises two, viz., longer and shorter control levers  20  and  22  which are pivotally disposed about a common pivot shaft  28  which is held by the base member  24 . The levers  20  and  22  and the base member  24  are constructed of reinforced plastics, such as reinforced polyacetal resin or the like. However, if desired, these members  20 ,  22  and  24  may be constructed of metals. For increased strength, each lever  20  or  22  is shaped to have a generally L-shaped cross section. Furthermore, each lever  20  or  22  has at the front exposed part a convexly curved upper edge (no numeral). 
     The base member  24  comprises a front flat part  24   a  bolted to the front wall of the cross member  10 , a middle flat part  24   b  extending rearward from the front flat part  24   a,  an upper cover part  24   c  extending laterally from an upper end of the middle flat part  24   b  and an inclined rear part  24   d.  The common shaft  28  is held by the middle flat part  24   b.  The middle flat part  24   b  is formed at its lower portion with a stopper projection  24   e  which extends rightward in FIG. 1, that is, toward the shorter control lever  22 . The shape of the stopper projection  24   e  may be imaged from the drawing of FIG.  8 . 
     As is seen from FIG. 3, the longer control lever  20  has a recess  20   x  in which the shorter control lever  22  is snugly received. 
     As is seen from FIG. 2, the longer control lever  20  has at a front end a thinner grip portion  20   a  which is shaped to be easily gripped by an operator (viz., driver). A rear end  20   b  of the longer control lever  20  is connected to the inclined rear part  24   d  of the base member  24  through a biasing spring  30 . Due the force of this spring  30 , the longer control lever  20  is biased to assume its horizontal rest position as illustrated by a solid line in FIG. 2. A wire connector  20   c  is provided on the rear end  20   b  of the control lever  20 , which holds one end of a wire  32  extending from a latch mechanism of a trunk lid. A guide member  34  is pivotally held by the inclined rear part  24   d  of the base member  24 , through which the wire  32  passes. When thus the longer control lever  20  is pulled up against the force of the biasing spring  30 , the wire  32  is driven in a direction to cancel a latched condition of the latch mechanism of the trunk lid. Upon this, the trunk lid becomes unlatched and thus can be opened. As will be described in detail hereinafter, when the longer control lever  20  is pulled up to its uppermost position as illustrated by a phantom line in FIG. 2, the wire connector  20   c  of the lever  20  abuts against the stopper projection  24   e  of the base member  24 . That is, the stopper projection  24   e  functions to suppress excessive upward pivoting of the longer control lever  20 . 
     It is now to be noted that the shorter control lever  22  has substantially the same construction as the above-mentioned longer control lever  20  except that in the shorter control lever  22 , a wire connected to the rear end of the lever  22  extends to a latch mechanism of a filler cap. That is, when the shorter control lever  22  is pulled up against the force of a corresponding biasing spring, the latch mechanism of the filler cap becomes unlatched ant thus the filler cap can be opened. Also in this case, the stopper projection  24   e  functions to suppress excessive upward pivoting of the shorter control lever  22 . 
     In the first embodiment  100 A, the following measures are further employed. 
     That is, as is seen from FIG. 2, front and rear stopper portions  20 A and  20 B are defined at front and rear portions of the control lever  20 . The front stopper portion  20 A is constituted by a downwardly protruded part of the front portion of the lever  20 , and the rear stopper portion  20 B is constituted by an upwardly protruded part of the rear portion of the lever  20 . That is, when the longer control lever  20  assumes the horizontal rest position as shown in FIG. 2, the rear stopper portion  20 B abuts against the upper cover part  24   c  of the base member  24  leaving a predetermined space “Sa” between the front stopper portion  20 A and the vehicle floor “F”. 
     It is to be noted that the thickness of the space “Sa” is determined smaller than a moved distance which is exhibited by the front stopper portion  20 A when the latter is subjected to a maximum resilient deformation, that is, when the lever  20  is strongly stepped by a passenger (viz., driver). Preferably, the thickness of the space “Sa” is smaller than about 5 mm. 
     It is to be noted that the above-mentioned measures of the longer control lever  20  are not needed by the shorter control lever  22 . However, if desired, such measures may be applied to the shorter one. 
     In the following, operation will be described with the aid of the drawings. 
     For ease of understanding, the description will be commenced with respect to a rest condition of the lid opener  100 A wherein both the longer and shorter control levers  20  and  22  assume their horizontal rest positions, as is seen from FIG.  2 . 
     When the longer control lever  20  is pulled up against the force of the spring  30 , the wire  32  is driven in a direction to cancel the latched condition of the latch mechanism of the trunk lid. Thus, the trunk lid becomes unlatched and thus can be opened. As is mentioned hereinabove, due to provision of the stopper projection  24   e  against which the wire connector  20   c  of the lever  20  can abut, the upper work position of the longer control lever  20  is assured. When then the longer control lever  20  is released, the lever  20  is returned to the horizontal rest position of FIG. 2 due to the force of the spring  30 . 
     When the shorter control lever  22  is pulled up, the latched condition of the filler cap becomes canceled and thus the filler cap can be opened, like in the case of the above-mentioned trunk lid. 
     When, with the lid opener  100 A assuming the rest condition, a remarkable force “P” is suddenly applied to the exposed front portions of the longer and shorter control levers  20  and  22  due to accidental stepping by a driver&#39;s shoe as is seen from FIG. 5, the longer control lever  20  is pressed down bringing the front stopper portion  20 A thereof into abutment with the vehicle floor “F” while keeping the abutment of the rear stopper portion  20 B with the upper cover part  24   c  of the base member  24 . During this, the longer control lever  20  is subjected to a resilient deformation by a degree of the thickness of the space “Sa”, and upon abutment of the front stopper portion  20 A with the vehicle floor “F”, the force “P” applied to the longer control lever  20  becomes supported by three supporting points, which are a first supporting point “P 1 ” where the front stopper portion  20 A contacts the vehicle floor “F”, a second supporting point “P 2 ” where the rear stopper portion  20 B contacts the upper cover part  24   c  of the base member  24  and a third supporting point “P 3 ” where the longer control lever  20  is disposed about the pivot shaft  28 . That is, the shock “P” applied to the longer control lever  20  is supported by the three points minimizing the force actually applied to each supporting point “P 1 ”, “P 2 ” or “P 3 ”. Thus, undesired deformation and damage of the longer control lever  20  are suppressed. 
     It is to be noted that when both the longer and shorter control levers  20  and  22  are stepped by the driver&#39;s shoe, the longer control lever  20  protects the shorter control lever  22  by carrying out the above-mentioned self-supporting function. 
     Referring to FIGS. 6 to  9 , there is shown a double lever type lid opener  100 B which is a second embodiment of the present invention. 
     The lid opener  100 B of this embodiment is similar to that of the above-mentioned first embodiment  100 A. Thus, detailed explanation will be directed to only parts or portions which are different from those of the first embodiment  100 A. 
     As is seen from FIGS. 6 and 8, like in the first embodiment  10 A, the lid opener  100 B of this second embodiment comprises longer and shorter control levers  20 ′ and  22 ′ which are pivotally disposed about a common pivot shaft  28 . Each control lever  20 ′ or  22 ′ has at the front exposed part a convexly curved upper edge. The pivot shaft  28  is held by a base member  24 ′ which is constructed of a metal. The base member  24 ′ comprises a front flat part  24 ′ a  secured to the cross member  10 , a middle flat part  24 ′ b  extending rearward from the front flat part  24 ′ a,  an upper cover part  24 ′ c  extending laterally from an upper end of the middle flat part  24 ′ b  and an inclined rear part  24 &#39; d.  The middle flat part  24 ′ b  is formed at its lower portion with a stopper projection  24 ′ e  which extends toward the shorter control lever  22 ′. The shape of the stopper projection  24 ′ e  may be seen from FIG.  9 . 
     As is seen from FIG. 6, the longer control lever  20 ′ has near the wire connector  20 ′ c  a forward projection  36  which abuts against the stopper projection  24 ′ e  when the lever  20 ′ is pivoted up to the upper work position. A biasing spring  30  extends between a rear end  20 ′ b  of the longer control lever  20 ′ and the middle flat part  24 ′ b.  From a wire connector  20 ′ c  provided by the rear end  20 ′ b,  there extends a wire  32  to a latch mechanism of a trunk lid. A guide member  34  is pivotally held by the inclined rear part  24 ′ d  of the base member  24 ′, through which the wire  32  extends. Due to the force of the biasing spring  30 , the longer control lever  20 ′ is biased to assume the horizontal rest position. The shorter control lever  22 ′ has substantially the same construction as the longer control lever  20 ′ except that in the shorter control lever  22 ′, a wire connected to the rear end of the lever  22 ′ extends to a latch mechanism of a filler cap. 
     In the second embodiment  100 B, the following measures are further employed. 
     That is, as is seen from FIG. 6, the longer control lever  20 ′ is formed at a rear portion thereof with a rear stopper portion  20 ′B which is contactable with the upper cover part  24 ′ c  of the base member  24 ′. 
     Furthermore, as is seen from FIGS. 6 and 7, the longer control lever  20 ′ is formed near the pivot shaft  28  with a middle stopper portion  20 ′A which projects downward. When the longer control lever  20 ′ assumes the horizontal rest position as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the rear stopper portion  20 B abuts against the upper cover part  24 ′ c  of the base member  24 ′ leaving a predetermined space “Sb” between the middle stopper portion  20 ′A and the stopper projection  24 ′ e.  The thickness of the space “Sb” is determined smaller than a moved distance which is exhibited by the middle stopper portion  20 ′A when the latter is subjected to a maximum resilient deformation, that is, when the lever  20 ′ is strongly stepped by a passenger (viz., driver). Preferably, the thickness of the space “Sb” is smaller about 1 mm. 
     It is to be noted that the above-mentioned measures of the longer control lever  20 ′ are not needed by the shorter control lever  22 ′. However, if desired, such measures may be applied to the shorter one. 
     When, with the lid opener  100 B assuming a rest condition as shown in FIG. 6, the longer control lever  20  is pulled up against the force of the spring  30 , the wire  32  is driven in a direction to cancel the latched condition of the trunk lid. Due to provision of the stopper projection  24 ′ e  against which the forward projection  36  of the lever  20 ′ can abut, the upper position of the longer control lever  20 ′ is assured. When the longer control lever  20 ′ is released, the lever  20 ′ is returned to the horizontal rest position of FIG. 6 due to the force of the spring  30 . When the shorter control lever  22 ′ is pulled up, the latched condition of the filler cap becomes canceled and thus the filler cap can be opened, like in the case of the above-mentioned trunk lid. 
     When, with the lid opener  100 B assuming the rest condition, a remarkable force is suddenly applied to the exposed front portions of the longer and shorter control levers  20 ′ and  22 ′ due to accidental stepping by a driver&#39;s shoe, the longer control lever  20 ′ is pressed down bringing the middle stopper portion  20 ′A thereof into abutment with the stopper projection  24 ′ e  of the base member  24 ′ while keeping the abutment of the rear stopper portion  20 ′B with the upper cover part  24 ′ c  of base member  24 ′. During this, the longer control lever  20 ′ is subjected to a resilient deformation by a degree of the thickness of the space “Sb”, and upon abutment of the middle stopper portion  20 ′A with the stopper projection  24 ′ e,  the force applied to the longer control lever  20 ′ becomes supported by three supporting points, which are a first supporting point “P′ 1 ” where the middle stopper portion  20 ′A″ contacts the stopper projection  24 ′ e  of the base member  24 ′, a second supporting point “P′ 2 ” where the rear stopper portion  20 ′B contacts the upper cover part  24 ′ c  of the base member  24 ′ and a third supporting point “P′ 3 ” where the longer control lever  20 ′ is disposed about the pivot shaft  28 . That is, like in the case of the above-mentioned first embodiment  100 A, the shock applied to the longer control lever  20 ′ is supported by the three points minimizing the force actually applied to each supporting point “P′ 1 ”, “P′ 2 ” or “P′ 3 ”. Thus, undesired deformation and damage of the longer control lever  20 ′ are suppressed. 
     It is to be noted that even when both the longer and shorter control levers  20 ′ and  22 ′ are stepped by the driver&#39;s shoe, the longer control lever  20 ′ protects the shorter control lever  22 ′ by carrying out the above-mentioned self-supporting function. 
     The entire contents of Japanese Patent Application P10-87235 (filed Mar. 31, 1998) are incorporated herein by reference. 
     Although the invention has been described above by reference to certain embodiments of the invention, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Modifications and variations of the embodiments described above will occur to those skilled in the art, in light of the above teachings.