Abstract:
A manipulation lever assembly for a trunk lid may include a manipulation lever including a connection portion wherein the connection portion is pivotally coupled to the trunk lid; and an actuation member, one end portion of which is coupled to a first end portion of the manipulation lever and the other end portion of which is coupled to a locking assembly of the trunk lid, wherein when the locking assembly is unlocked, the actuation member activates the manipulation lever, so that a second end of the manipulation lever is extracted outwards from the trunk lid.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2008-0045322 filed May 16, 2008, the entire contents of which application is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a manipulation lever assembly for trunk lids. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0005]    Generally, trunks which can be openably closed by lids and which are for loading cargo are provided in the rear ends of vehicles. 
         [0006]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , in a conventional technique, a locking device  11  is provided in a trunk lid  10  and is constructed such that a user can release the locked state of the trunk lid  10 . A garnish  12  is attached to the trunk lid  10  above a license plate attachment area  13  to improve the external appearance. The locking device  11  includes a locking assembly, which is installed in the trunk lid  10 , and a key slot which is exposed outside of the trunk lid  10 , so that when a private key is inserted into the key slot and rotated, the locking assembly is operated in conjunction with the rotation of the private key. Therefore, when the user inserts the private key into the key slot and rotates it, the trunk lid is released from the vehicle body. 
         [0007]    However, when it is desired to close the trunk lid after loading cargo into the trunk, the user usually places his/her hand on the outer panel of the trunk lid and pushes the trunk lid downwards. This operation inconveniences the user. 
         [0008]    In particular if the trunk lid is exposed to the outside for a long time, the outer panel of the trunk lid becomes covered with foreign substances, such as dust or dirt. In this state, if the user contacts the outer panel of the trunk lid, the hand of the user becomes stained with the foreign substances, thus making the user feel unpleasant. 
         [0009]    The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that his information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    Various aspects of the present invention are directed to provide for a manipulation lever assembly for trunk lids which is constructed such that when a trunk lid is unlocked, a manipulation lever is extracted outwards from the trunk lid, so that a user can open or close the trunk lid using the manipulation lever without contacting the trunk lid, thus preventing the hand of the user from being strained or coming into contact with the foreign substances. 
         [0011]    In an aspect of the present invention, a manipulation lever assembly for a trunk lid may include a manipulation lever including a connection portion, wherein the connection portion is pivotally coupled to the trunk lid, and/or an actuation member, one end portion of which is coupled to a first end portion of the manipulation lever and the other end portion of which is coupled to a locking assembly of the trunk lid, wherein when the locking assembly is unlocked, the actuation member activates the manipulation lever, so that a second end of the manipulation lever is extracted outwards from the trunk lid. 
         [0012]    The one end portion of the actuation member may be coupled to a front side at the first end portion of the manipulation lever and the connection portion may be formed at a rear side of the manipulation lever. 
         [0013]    a housing may be mounted in a depression of the trunk lid and the connection portion of the manipulation lever is pivotally coupled to the housing. 
         [0014]    The depression of the trunk lid may include an upper depression formed above a license plate attachment area disposed on a rear surface of the trunk lid. 
         [0015]    The actuation member may include an actuation cable. 
         [0016]    The actuation member may include at least a link. 
         [0017]    The manipulation lever assembly may further include an elastic member coupling the connection portion of the manipulation lever to the trunk lid and biasing the manipulation lever to original position with respect to the connection portion. The elastic member may be a rubber. 
         [0018]    The manipulation lever assembly may further include a returning spring coupled at respective opposite ends thereof to the trunk lid and the manipulation lever, the returning spring biasing the extracted manipulation lever toward an original position of the manipulation lever with respect to tie connection portion. 
         [0019]    The return spring may be a torsion spring. 
         [0020]    The returning spring may include a first spring portion disposed at the connection portion of the manipulation lever, and/or a second spring portion coupled to the manipulation lever except for the connection portion, the second spring portion being connected to the first spring portion. 
         [0021]    A hinge shaft may penetrate the connection portion and pivotally connect the manipulation lever with the trunk lid therethrough. 
         [0022]    A removal prevention piece may be provided on an end of the hinge shaft to prevent the manipulation lever from being released from the hinge shaft. 
         [0023]    The manipulation lever assembly may further include a stopper protruding from the trunk lid, so that the extracted manipulation lever is locked to the stopper and maintains the extracted state. 
         [0024]    The stopper may be disposed between the connection portion and the second end portion of the manipulation lever in a normal state. 
         [0025]    The stopper may have an inclined portion, which is inclined in a direction in which the manipulation lever is extracted outwards from the trunk lid. 
         [0026]    The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other features and advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and the following Detailed Description of the Invention, which together serve to explain certain principles of the present invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0027]      FIG. 1  is a bottom perspective view of an exemplary manipulation lever assembly for trunk lids according to the present invention. 
           [0028]      FIG. 2  is a bottom perspective view showing an extracted state of a lever of the manipulation lever assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0029]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged perspective view showing the extracted state of the manipulation lever of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0030]      FIG. 4  is a view showing an exemplary process of returning the manipulation lever, which has been in the extracted state, to its original position according to the present invention. 
           [0031]      FIG. 5  is a view showing a trunk lid of a vehicle according to a conventional technique. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0032]    Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that present description is not intended to limit the invention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 
         [0033]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 through 3 , a manipulation lever assembly for trunk lids according to various embodiments of the present invention is constructed such that when a trunk lid  600  is unlocked from a vehicle body, a manipulation lever  200  extracts itself from the trunk lid  600 . Hence, the present invention enables a user to hold the manipulation lever  200  using his/her hand and open or close the trunk lid  600  without contacting an outer panel of the trunk lid  600 . 
         [0034]    The configuration, as various embodiments of the present invention, will be described in detail below. The manipulation lever assembly includes a housing  100  and the manipulation lever  200 , which is hinged to the housing  100 . The housing  100  is mounted in a depression, which is formed in the trunk lid  600 , so that the housing  100  is not exposed to the outside of the trunk lid  600 . The term “depression” means an upper depression  610 , which is formed above a license plate attachment area  640  disposed on the rear surface of the trunk lid  600 . 
         [0035]    The manipulation lever  200  is rotatably coupled to the housing  100  by a hinge shaft  210 . In detail, the manipulation lever  200  has a bar shape, and is coupled at a first end thereof to the hinge shaft  210  such that a second end thereof is rotatable around the hinge shaft  210 . 
         [0036]    Therefore, after the second end of the manipulation lever  200  is rotated and extracted from the trunk lid  600 , the user can hold the second end of the manipulation lever  200  and push or pull it in one direction to open or close the trunk. Then, the trunk lid  600  can be easily opened or closed. 
         [0037]    In other words, the manipulation lever  200  is configured such that when the trunk lid  600  is unlocked, the manipulation lever  200  extracts itself from the trunk lid  600 . 
         [0038]    For this, an actuation cable  300  is connected to the first end of the manipulation lever  200 . The actuation cable  300  is connected to the locking assembly  630  installed in the trunk lid  600 , such that the actuation cable  300  is operated in conjunction with the locking assembly  630 . 
         [0039]    In various embodiments of the present invention, the actuation cable  300  may be coupled to a front side of the manipulation lever  200  and a portion at rear side of the manipulation lever  200  may be coupled to the trunk lid  600  so that the manipulation lever  200  can be received in the narrow depression of the trunk lid  600 . 
         [0040]    Therefore, when a private key is inserted into a key slot  620  of the locking assembly  630  and is rotated in one direction, the trunk lid  600  is unlocked and, simultaneously, a rotor of the locking assembly  630  pulls the actuation cable  300 . Then, the actuation cable  300  pulls the first end of the manipulation lever  200  by the pulling operation of the rotor, so that the second end of the manipulation lever  200  is extracted outwards from the upper depression  610  of the trunk lid  600 . 
         [0041]    In various embodiments, although the actuation cable  300  has been illustrated as being used as a means for connecting the manipulation lever  200  to the locking assembly  630 , the present invention is not limited to this, and various kinds of connecting means can be used. 
         [0042]    For example, the manipulation lever  200  may be connected to the locking assembly  630  using a link structure. Furthermore, the actuation cable  300  need not be connected to the rotor of the locking assembly  630 , and the actuation cable  300  may be connected to an actuation member, such as a latch of the trunk lid  600 , such that when the trunk lid  600  is unlocked, the manipulation lever  200  can be pulled by the actuation cable  300  in conjunction with the latch. 
         [0043]    The manipulation lever  200 , which has been rotated and extracted outwards from the trunk lid  600  by the unlocking operation of the locking assembly  630 , can be returned to its original position by a returning spring  400 . 
         [0044]    In various embodiments of the present invention, the returning spring  400  is fastened at a first end thereof to the housing  100  and is fastened at a second end thereof to the manipulation lever  200 . Thus, the manipulation lever  200 , which has been extracted outwards, can be returned to its original position by the elastic force of the returning spring  400 . 
         [0045]    Here, the operation of returning the manipulation lever  200  to its original position using the returning spring  400  can be restrained by a stopper  500 . 
         [0046]    The stopper  500  protrudes from the housing  100  such that the manipulation lever  200 , which is rotated in the direction in which it is retracted, is stopped by the stopper  500 . In detail, the stopper  500  has an inclined portion  510 , which is inclined upwards in the direction in which the manipulation lever  200  is extracted outwards, and a stop portion  520 , which is abruptly slanted from the end of the inclined portion  510 . 
         [0047]    Therefore, when the manipulation lever  200  is rotated by the unlocking operation of the locking assembly  630 , the second end of the manipulation lever  200  passes over the inclined portion  510  and then is locked to the stop portion  520 . Thus, the extracted state of the manipulation lever  200  can be maintained. 
         [0048]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , the manipulation lever  200 , which has been locked to the stop portion  520 , can be retracted to its original position by pulling the manipulation lever  200  downwards, that is, in the direction parallel to the hinge shaft  210 . 
         [0049]    To achieve this purpose, the returning spring  400  includes a first spring portion  410 , which is wound around the hinge shaft  210 , and a second spring portion  420 , which is connected to the first spring portion  410  and is wound around the manipulation lever  200 . The second spring portion  420  is offset from the hinge shaft  210  with a predetermined distance to give a rotational moment to the manipulation lever  200  with respect to the hinge shaft  210 . 
         [0050]    The first spring portion  410  provides rotational elastic force to the manipulation lever  200  such that when the manipulation lever  200  is extracted outwards from the trunk lid  600 , the manipulation lever  200  is biased towards the original position. 
         [0051]    The second spring portion  420  provides upward elastic restoring force to the manipulation lever  200  such that when the manipulation lever  200  is pulled in the direction parallel to the hinge shaft  210  downwards, the manipulation lever  200  is biased upwards towards its original position. 
         [0052]    Therefore, when the manipulation lever  200 , which has been locked to the stop portion  520 , is pulled downwards in the direction parallel to the hinge shaft  210 , the manipulation lever  200  passes over the stop portion  520  of the stopper  500 , then the manipulation lever  200  is returned by the elastic force of the returning spring  400  to the original position thereof. 
         [0053]    Here, a removal prevention piece  220  is provided on the end of the hinge shaft  210 . The removable prevention piece  220  functions to prevent the manipulation lever  200  from being removed from the hinge shaft  210  when the manipulation lever  200  is pulled downwards in the direction parallel to the hinge shaft  210 . 
         [0054]    In various embodiments of the present invention, one may appreciate that the return spring  400  can be replaced by a single body of a rubber since the rubber is elastic in three dimensions. 
         [0055]    In further embodiments of the present invention, one may appreciate that the return spring  400 , the hinge shaft  210  and the removable prevention piece  220  can be replaced by a single body of a rubber since the rubber is elastic in three dimensions as set forth above. 
         [0056]    The operation and effect of the present invention having the above-mentioned configuration will be explained herein below. 
         [0057]    From the state of  FIG. 1  in which the manipulation lever  200  is disposed inside the upper depression  610  of the trunk lid  600 , when the private key is inserted into the key slot  620  of the locking assembly  630  and is rotated, the rotor of the locking assembly  630  pulls the actuation cable  300 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0058]    Thus, the first end of the manipulation lever  200  is pulled by the rotor. Therefore, the second end of the manipulation lever  200  is rotated outwards and thus becomes extracted from the upper depression  610  of the trunk lid  600 . 
         [0059]    Where, while the manipulation lever  200  is rotated outwards, the second end of the manipulation lever  200  passes over the inclined portion  510  of the stopper  500  and is thereafter locked to the stop portion  520 . Thereby, the manipulation lever  200  can be maintained in the extracted state. Then, the user can open or close the trunk lid  600  using the extracted manipulation lever  200 . 
         [0060]    Thereafter, as shown in  FIG. 4 , when the user pulls downwards the manipulation lever  200 , which has been locked to the stop portion  520 , that is, in the direction parallel to the hinge shaft  210  beyond the length of the stop portion  520 , the manipulation lever  200  passes over the stop portion  520  of the stopper  500  and then is returned to its original position by the elastic force of the returning spring  400 . 
         [0061]    As described above, the present invention provides a manipulation lever assembly for trunk lids which is constructed such that when a trunk lid is unlocked, a manipulation lever becomes extracted outwards from the trunk lid, so that a user can conveniently open or close the trunk lid using the manipulation lever without contacting the trunk lid. Particularly, when the trunk lid is closed, because the user can close the trunk lid using the manipulation lever, the hand of the user can be prevented from being strained with foreign substances which cover the outer panel of the trunk lid. 
         [0062]    For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appended claims, the terms, “upper”, “upwards”, “downwards”, “front”, and “rear” are used to describe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of such features as displayed in the figures. 
         [0063]    The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of the invention and their practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents.