Abstract:
A device for installation in a motor vehicle has a pop-out part which is movably guided from an initial position into a usage position and vice versa, a guide for guiding the pop-out part for movement from the initial position into the usage position and vice versa, and a safety locking device having a movable latch arranged to be brought by an acceleration into an engagement with the pop-out part so as to lock the pop-out part in the initial position.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a device for installation in a motor vehicle, the device having a pop-out part. 
     A pop-out part of that kind can be, for example, a storage compartment that is movable by displacement in the manner of a drawer fro man initial position into a position of use. In the initial position, the pop-out part closes substantially flush with, for example, the dashboard of the motor vehicle, and in the position of use the pop-out part projects into the passenger space. A pivoting or other kind of guide means, for example, can also be provided to enable the pop-out part to be moved from the initial position into the position of use. The pop-out part can be, for example, a holder for a drinks container, such as a can of drink, a cup or similar. 
     If the motor vehicle is involved in an accident, accelerations can act on the pop-out part and move it automatically and undesirably from the initial position into the usage position. Since the pop-out part projects into the passenger space in the usage position, there is an increased risk of injury. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device having a pop-out part for installation in a motor vehicle, which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art. 
     More particularly, it is an object of present invention to provide securing a pop-out part in a motor vehicle against automatic opening in the event of an accident, opening meaning transport of the pop-out part from the initial position into the usage position. 
     The device according to the invention has a safety lock with a latch. By virtue of its inertia, in the event of a rear-end collision, impact of the motor vehicle against an obstacle and the like, the latch comes into engagement with the pop-out part located in the initial position and lock this. As a result of an acceleration, especially a negative acceleration (deceleration) of the motor vehicle, the latch therefore engages to lock the pop-out part in the initial position. The invention has the advantage that the pop-out part does not open in the event of an accident, that is, does not move from the initial position into the usage position, hence during the risk of injury. 
     In a practical example of the invention, the latch of the safety lock is mounted in the motor vehicle so as to pivot through a limited pivoting angle about a pivot axis. The contact point of the latch, with which, in the event of an accident, the latch comes into engagement with the pop-out part located in the initial position, is spaced from the pivot axis. The centre of mass of the latch is located between the pivot axis and the contact point of the latch. In the event of an accident, because of the part and the latch move relative to the motor vehicle. It can be assumed that the pop-out part and the centre of mass of the latch move at least approximately the same speed relative to the motor vehicle. Since the contact point of the latch is spaced further from the axis thereof than the centre of mass of the latch, the contact point moves relative to the motor vehicle at a greater speed than the pop-out part. Because of this greater speed of the contact point of the latch compared with the pop-out part, the latch comes quickly into engagement with the pop-out part during an accident and locks it; the pop-out part hardly moves from its initial position at all. 
     The invention is provided in particular for a drawer or similar storage tray, in which articles can be placed. It is especially important here that the drawer remains in its closed initial position in the event of an accident, so that stored articles cannot fly out and injure passengers. 
     In a preferred construction, the latch has an increased mass in the region of its centre of mass. The increased mass can be formed, for example, by an enlarged cross-section of the latch in the region of the plastics material forming the latch. The position of the centre of mass of the latch can be fixed by choosing the location on the latch at which the increased mass is arranged. 
     The device according to the invention is provided in particular for a pop-out part that is locked in its initial position by a push-push locking device known per se and, after being unlocked, is moved into the usage position by an opening spring element. The push-push device, also called a cardioid mechanism, is unlocked by a pressure on a front side of the pop-out part, which presses the pop-out part a short way into the dashboard or similar structure of the motor vehicle. The device according to the invention prevents the push-push locking device from coming unlocked automatically because of accelerations occurring in the event of an accident, in that it stops the pop-out part before the push-push locking device unlocks. The device according to the invention is also able to block the push-push locking device when the motor vehicle is involved in an accident, so that the push-push locking device cannot unlock itself. A further point is that the device according to the invention locks the pop-out part in its initial position when the motor vehicle is involved in an accident, regardless of whether the push-push locking device is locked or unlocked. 
     The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the present invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows in side view a device according to the invention in an initial position; 
     FIG. 2 shows the device from FIG. 1 in a usage position; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the device from FIG. 1 in the usage position; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a housing of the device from FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 5 is a plan view of the base of the housing of the device from FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The device  10  according to the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 to  3  comprises a box-shaped housing  12  with an open front  14 . The device  10  is provided for fitting into, for example, the dashboard, not illustrated, of a motor vehicle. The housing  12  is installed so that it is recessed and has its front  14  flush with the dashboard. A storage tray, referred to hereinafter as drawer  16 , is received in the housing  12 . 
     The device  10  has a guide means by which the drawer  16  is displaceable from an initial position illustrated in FIG. 1, in which it is inserted in the housing  12 , into a usage position illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, in which position the drawer  16  projects from the housing  12 . The guide means for the drawer  16  comprises a plate-like slider member  18  on the base  20  of the housing  12  (FIG.  4 ). The slider member  18  engages laterally in channels  22  of the housing base  20  and is accordingly guided slidingly on the housing base  20 . By means of a pin articulation  24  (FIG.  2 ), the drawer  16  is pivotally mounted at a front edge  26  of the slider member  18 . On its lateral walls  28 , the housing  12  has cranked guideways  30 , in which guide pins  32  projecting laterally from the drawer  16  at a rear side thereof engage. The cranked guideway means comprising cranked guideways  30  and guide pins  32  causes a front end of the drawer  16  to pivot downwards as it is displaced into the usage position, so that in the usage position the drawer  16  assumes a downwardly inclined position in which its interior space is readily accessible. 
     Displacement of the drawer  16  into the usage position is effected by an opening spring element. In this exemplary embodiment illustrated, the opening spring element is leg spring  23  that is mounted on the base  20  of the housing  12  and presses the drawer  16  at the slider member  18  thereof into the usage position. Closure of the drawer, that is, displacement into the housing  12  into the initial position, is effected against the spring force of the leg spring  23 . The displacement movement of the is mounted laterally on the drawer  16  in the rear region thereof. A gearwheel  36  of the rotary damping element  34  meshes with a toothed rack, not illustrated in the drawing, on an inner side of a lateral wall  28  of the housing  12 . 
     In the initial position, the drawer  16  is locked by means of push-push locking device (cardioid mechanism)  29  known per se, which is arranged on the underside of the slider member  18 . The push-push locking device  29  is unlocked by pressure against a front panel  38  of the drawer  16 , that is, by pressing the drawer  16  a short distance beyond the initial position into the housing  12 . After unlocking the push-push locking device  29 , the leg spring  23  opens the drawer  16 , that is to say, the leg spring  23  displaces the drawer  16  into the usage position. 
     The device  10  has a safety locking device which locks the drawer  16  in the initial position if the motor vehicle is involved in an accident. 
     The safety locking device is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. The drawer  16  has not been drawn in these two Figures to facilitate clear representation of the safety locking device. 
     The safety locking device comprises a latch  40  in the form of an extended lever cranked at one end. The latch  40  is arranged obliquely on the housing base  20  at an angle about 45° to the direction of displacement of the drawer  16  and laterally of the slider member  18 . At its end remote from the slider member  18 , the latch  40  has a pivot pin, not illustrated in the drawing, which engages in a locating hole on the housing base  20 . The latch  40  is accordingly mounted on the housing base  20  so as to pivot about a pivot axis  42 . 
     A short distance from the pivot axis  42 , the latch  40  has a weight  44 , the plastics material forming the latch  40  being injection-moulded around the weight. The centre of mass of the latch  40  is located in the region of the weight  44 . On the side of the weight  44  facing away from the pivot axis  42 , the latch  40  extends as far as one side of the slider member  18 . The end of the latch  40  remote from the pivot axis  42  constitutes a contact point  46 . The distance of the contact point  46  from the pivot axis  42  is considerably larger than the distance of the weight  44  from the pivot axis  42 . The pivoting angle of the latch  40  is restricted; it can pivot back and forth between a base stop  48  and an end stop  50 , both of which are arranged on the housing base  20 . A leg spring  52  presses the latch  40  against the base stop  48 ; this position of the latch  40  is illustrated in FIG. 4 and 5 by solid lines. The position of the latch  40  lying against the end stop  50  is indicated in FIG. 5 by broken lines. In the position lying against the base stop  48 , the latch  40  is located with its contact point  46  away from the path of the slider member  18  of the drawer  16 . When the latch  40  lies against the end stop  50 , its contact point  46  extends into the path of a lug  54  projecting upwards from the slider member  18 , so that the slider member  18  can be displaced only a short way beyond the initial position into the housing  12 . The displacement path is designated to be sufficiently short to prevent the push-push locking device  29  of the drawer  16  from unlocking. 
     The function of the safety locking device of the device  10  according to the invention is as follows: in the event, for example, of a rear-end collision or an impact against an obstacle a high acceleration (deceleration) acts on the motor vehicle, not illustrated. This acceleration that sharply decelerates the motor vehicle causes the latch  40  and the drawer  16  with its slider member  18  to move relative to the motor vehicle and hence relative to the housing  12 , that is, in FIG. 5, upwards. The latch  40  accordingly assumes the position indicated by broken lines in FIG. 5, in which it rests against the end stop  50 . The contact point  46  of the latch  40  projects into the path of the lug  54  of the slider member  18  and consequently blocks the movement of the slider member  18  into the housing  12  before this movement unlocks the push-push locking mechanism  29  of the drawer  16 . The drawer  16  therefore remains in its initial position inserted in the housing  12 , so that articles inserted in the drawer  16  cannot fall out. In an accident, the weight  44  of the latch  40  moves approximately at the same speed as the drawer  16  with its slider member  18 . The contact point  46  of the latch  40  moves at substantially higher speed than the weight  44 , as its distance from the pivot axis  42  is greater. The speed at which the contact point  46  moves during an accident is thus substantially greater than the speed of the slider  18 . Consequently, in the event of an accident, it is ensured that the contact point  46  projects into the path of the lug  54  of the slider member  18  before the lug  54  runs past the contact point  46  of the latch  40 . Consequently, it is ensured that the contact point  46  blocks the slider member  18  so early in the event of an accident, that the push-push locking device  29  of the drawer  16  is not unlocked. 
     The spring force of the leg spring  52  of the latch  40  is chosen so that in normal driving and even during accelerations caused by sharp braking, it holds the latch  40  pressed against the base stop  48 , so that the drawer  16  can be opened during normal driving at any time and the latch  40  makes no rattling noise. Moreover, the spring characteristic of the leg spring  52  is sufficiently weak that, by virtue of the accelerations occurring in the event of an accident, which are considerably greater than the accelerations occurring during normal driving, the contact point  46  moves more quickly relative to the housing  12  than the drawer  16  with its slider member  18 . 
     It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above. 
     While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in device having a pop-out part for installation in a motor vehicle, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. 
     Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention. 
     What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by letters patent is set forth in the appended claims: