Patent ID: 7453048

Claim:
A change of direction indicator device for vehicles including: a fixed support mounted in the vicinity of a steering column; an actuation lever mechanically connnected to the fixed support and displaceable between stable central and left and right lateral positions, the lateral positions being positions in which an indicator is activated, the central position being a position in which neither indicator is activated; a moveable finger mechanically connected to the actuation lever and the positions of which on the support are determined by the positions of the actuation lever, the free end of the moveable finger being able to co-operate with a drive organ rotating with the steering column when the actuation lever is in its left or right position so as to return it to its central position in case of rotation of the drive organ in the direction opposite to the preceding displacement of the actuation lever; and safety means guaranteeing the integrity of the device in the ease of forced maintenance of the actuation lever in a left or right position on rotation of the drive organ in the opposite direction; wherein the moveable finger is mounted on the fixed support slidingly between a position of engagement of the free end with the drive organ and a disengaged position; wherein the moveable finger is mounted to pivot on the fixed support, pivoting being possible only in the engagement position to disengage the free end from die trajectory of the drive organ at the limit of pivot; further comprising return means configured to bring the moveable finger on the one band into its disengaged position and on the other into an engaged lateral position; wherein the moveable finger and the fixed support each include an indexing surface, the two surfaces being superimposed so as to co-operate with a push button on the end of the actuation lever; wherein the moveable and fixed indexing surfaces respectively include cavities and hollows intended on the one hand to provide stable positioning of the lever in the central and lateral positions, these last causing the moveable finger to slide into its engagement position, and on the other to ensure the return of the lever into the central position from a lateral position by rotation of the finger and therefore of the moveable indexing surface on rotation of the steering column in the opposite direction to that of the lever; and wherein the push button is elastically retractable to permit forced maintenance of the lever in a lateral position, despite the change of rotation of the steering column.