GB2064439A - A Fitting, for Example an Arm- rest or Handle, for the Interior of a Vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The fitting is made of resilient material and having a shape stabilized by an insert (1) which has a strength which is limited yet sufficient to withstand all forces acting on it during normal use, but changes into smaller and/or flatter shape when subjected to a force greater than that allowed for in the design (e.g. during a collision or during manufacture). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A Fitting for Example an Arm-rest or Handle, for the Interior of a Vehicle This invention relates to a fitting, such as an arm-rest or handle, for the interior of a vehicle, the fitting being made of resilient material and having a shape stabilized by an insert.

Although arm-rests and handles of vehicles have long been padded, it has been found that, in spite of the use of expensive padding they are a source of danger in accidents. Thus, bruises or more serious injuries such as fractures of bones or lacerations of bodily organs can be caused if, in the event of an accident, occupants of a vehicle are hurled against relatively sharply projecting fittings. The reason for this is that existinginserts have been relatively rigid because it is necessary for the fitting to retain its shape in use. This means that dangerous surfaces are produced which project sharply from the general surface and have narrow edges. Even slightly-projecting arm rests are at least six centimetres above the mounting surface.It has been found by experience that occupants of a vehicle may very easily break a bone if, for example, their arm or rib strikes against these unyielding projections.

However, rigid insert is not only a disadvantage in use; there are also disadvantages during manufacture, particularly if an outer skin of an aforementioned fitting has to be prefabricated in sleeve form (e.g. by the rotation method) and the insert has to be inserted into the sleeve during manufacture. The region of arm-rest or handle to be gripped in use may be of a smaller crosssection than the narrowest cross-section of the securing socket, i.e. the region of the fitting to be secured to a vehicle door. In order to introduce the insert, however, the grip region of the fitting must have a larger cross-section than is necessary for its functional use. In spite of this, when the insert is introduced into the prefabricated skin, it is often necessary to use considerable force in pushing it through the narrow regions of the prefabricated skin.

An aim of the present invention is to construct a fitting, such as an arm-rest or handle, for the interior of a vehicle, which fitting in its functional use is fully effective, yet which flattens when subjected to a force considerably greater than that for which it was designed. The greater force can be an impact, or can be applied during assembly so that the change of shape and restoration of the insert to the original shape can conform to technical safety specifications besides having manufacturing advantages.

With this aim in view, the invention is directed to a fitting, such as an arm-rest or handle for a vehicle interior, made of resilient material and having a shape stabilized by an insert, in which the insert has a strength which is limited yet sufficient to withstand all forces acting on it during normal use, but changes into a smaller and/or flatter shape when subjected to a force greater than that allowed for in the design. The insert can be constructed as a frame.

Crumpling or folding members have long been advantageously used and successfully tested in construction in the car industry. The members in question are satisfactory in their functional use without any disadvantage and without any perceptible limitations, but if subjected to forces greater than those occurring during normal use they crumple or fold in accordance with the intended design, resulting in a usually progressive reduction of the force of impact. This progressive reduction is another important advantage of a construction according to the invention. A still more important advantage, however, is the change in shape from a surface projecting from the general surface and usually having a narrow top, into a position at a much lower height relative to the mounting surface.It can easily be seen that this greatly reduces the risk of accident, since slightly projecting surfaces do not cause injury except in particularly unfavourable cases. As already mentioned, there is no impairment of operation in normal use. Even vehicle doors which are heavy or otherwise difficult to move can be shut without changing the shape of handles or arm-rests of the kind according to the invention.

Likewise, the force of an arm resting on the fitting will not be sufficient to deform it.

The advantage resulting from the deformability of the frame is a substantial simplification in manufacture and wider structural possibilities.

During manufacture, regions of the frame can be temporarily be reduced from their normal crosssection by folding or compressing the frame into a smaller than normal cross-section, and can thus be readily introduced into a prefabricated skin. On the other hand there are wider structural possibilities, i.e. arm-rest or screwing-on blocks of normal predetermined size can be made with handle regions having a cross-section smaller than possible when using rigid frames.

The frame can also be asymmetrical, i.e. a foamed member can be made of hard or hardened soft foam and have the resulting asymmetrical frame structure. However it is more advantageous to construct a frame having interconnected struts, which themselves are deformable in shape and/or in their angular positions relative to one another.

The struts can be corrugated.

Advantageously the frame is in the form of a surround extending susbtantially along the mounting surface of the arm-rest or the like and having the same basic shape. The struts can be angularly bent one or more times in directions opposite to one another or can have weak points in the form of thickness reduced sections. In these embodiments it is to be assumed that the surround is intrinsically stable in its shape but is deformable if subjected to a relatively strong pressure. The longitudinal surround surfaces, which serve to retain the shape and are stabilized by transverse struts for normal operational use, are placed substantially on top of one another if the struts are forced to crumple or fold in the manner for which they have been designed.

A structure according to the invention can also be embodied by struts which extend obliquely relative to the surround surface and thus also to the mounting surface. Advantageously the oblique direction of the struts of the frame, relative to the vehicle, extends from the end nearest the mounting surface obliquely in the direction of motion towards the end remote from the mounting surface. In order to appreciate the advantage of this construction, it must be pointed out that passenger vehicle doors, open in the direction of motion. When the doors are being closed, however, they are subject to a load acting against the direction of motion, so that the struts, which are disposed obliquely to the direction of pulling, are subject to load acting in a direction opposite to their oblique position, and thus cannot be deformed even under the maximum normal force.If an impact occurs, however, either at right angles to the mounting surface or at any angle to the direction of the vehicle, the struts, owing to their oblique position, turn over and thus reduce the height of the arm-rest or the like.

In principle, the frame for producing the armrest or handle can have less structural strength than that required in normal use and can be given during manufacture the required stability by an additional component. The additional component, which increases the stability of the frame, can be a material, e.g. foam, which fills cavities of the insert. Alternatively, the stability of the frame can be increased by using fastening means such as screws used for securing the arm-rest or handle to a wall, thus producing a lateral displacement and/or angular stabilization.

As previously mentioned, the shape of the frame, or at least a part thereof, can be altered in cross-section for assembly purposes. This can be done by a tool such as a pair of pincers or the like.

For example, pincers with a long beak can be used for pinching or folding the frame and inserting it through narrow, prefabricated closed skins.

Hitherto it has been assumed that the frame is made integrally in one piece and is made of one and the same material. Sometimes however, it is difficult to make the entire frame in one piece in the manufacture of arm-rests, particularly those with a handle and equipped with a prefabricated skin. The reason is that the central handle or grip part has a much smaller internal diameter than the end regions to be screw-fastened. In such cases it may be necessary to joint two or more parts of the frame after they have been introduced into the sleeve or skin.In such cases, the coupling or fastening region between the two parts can have a structure which is adapted to crumple or fold, or alternatively a surface or limb of the frame can be adapted to crumple or fold and the other part of the frame to be secured must project towards the mounting surface without bearing against it, i.e. must be kept sufficiently short to prevent crumpling or folding when pressed against the mounting surface.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in simplified form by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a frame for an arm-rest with an opening and a coupled handle, and Figure 2 is a diagram of an end part of a frame of Figure 1 in the collapsed and in the normal position.

The insert shown in the drawings comprises a frame 1 for stabilizing a padded arm-rest. A handle 3 to be connected to the insert is shown in chain-dotted lines.

The frame 1 comprises a peripheral surround 4 having the same basic shape as the arm-rest to be manufactured, the surround 4 enclosing a hollow space 2. The walls of the surround 4 are internally connected by various struts 5. Angularly twicebent struts 5a are disposed at the right in the drawing, near a securing block 6. The thickness of the struts 5 is reduced at the regions 7 where the struts are bent, as compared with strut regions 5a. The multiple bending in this region is based on the conception that since tensile forces are less likely to occur here, the static strength for normal use can be determined in accordance with the nature and thickness of the material only.

Near the opening 2, the frame 1 has substantially transverse struts Sb, one side surface being straight and the other side surface being once inwardly bent. This embodiment is based on the conception that the impact is seldom at right angles to the mounting surface but is usually at a relatively wide angle thereto slanting towards the direction of motion, so that struts Sb bend. If, however, there is a vertical impact, e.g. if the vehicle rolls over sideways, struts Sb will still fold at the point of impact onwards.

In the illustrated embodiment, the coupling 8 for connecting the frame 1 to the frame of handle 3 comprises a single bayonet joint; the two side surfaces extending from the centre are at an angle to the assembly surface and are a zigzag shape, so that an impact at this region results in crumpling, as already described with reference to struts 5a.

To clarify Figure 2, Figure 1 shows other struts having the following reference numbers: a surround strut 9 extending at an angle from a mounting strut 10, and an outer strut 11 associated with the securing block 6 and likewise extending at an angle from strut 10. Struts 9 and 11 are interconnected by a bent transverse strut 12.

The chain-dotted portion of Figure 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of the left end (in the drawing) of frame 1 in Figure 1. The portion in continuous lines shows the same region when it has collapsed, which can be brought about manually or by tools such as pincers or the like.

As can be seen, as the insert collapses it tends to straighten out. This collapsing or folding is possible only because the transverse strut 12 bends considerably and the struts 9 and 11 can bend at a considerable angle to strut 10.

Claims (14)

Claims

1. A fitting, such as an arm-rest or handle for a vehicle interior, made of resilient material and having a shape stabilized by an insert, in which the insert has a strength which is limited yet sufficient to withstand all forces acting on it during normal use, but changes into a smaller and/or flatter shape when subjected to a force greater than that allowed for in the design.

2. A fitting according to claim 1, in which the insert comprises a frame.

3. A fitting according to claim 2, in which the frame comprises interconnected struts, which are designed to change their shape and/or their angular positions relative to one another.

4. A fitting according to claim 3, in which the frame comprises a surround which extends substantially along the mounting surfaces of the arm-rest or the like and has the same basic shape as the arm-rest and is traversed in the interior by struts having a crumpling orfoldable structure.

5. A fitting according to claim 4, in which struts of the frame are angularly bent one or more times in directions opposite to one another or extend in corrugated lines.

6. A fitting according to claim 4 or claim 5, in which struts of the frame have weak points in the form of thickness reduced sections.

7. A fitting according to any one of claims 4 to 6, in which struts of the frame extend obliquely to the assembly surface.

8. A fitting according to claim 7, in which the arm-rest or handle is designed to be mounted on a vehicle in such a way that the oblique direction of the struts of the frame, relative to the vehicle, extends from the end nearest the mounting surface obliquely in the direction of motion towards the end remote from the mounting surface.

9. A fitting according to claim 1, in which the insert comprises a frame which itself has a strength insufficient to withstand the forces acting on it during normal use, the frame being combined with a further structural member during manufacture to impart the strength required for normal use.

10. A fitting according to claim 9, in which the further structural member is a substance such as foam material which fills cavities of the insert.

11. A fitting according to claim 9, in which the further structural member is a fastening means such as a screw used for securing the arm-rest or handle to a wall.

12. A fitting according to any of the preceding claims, in which the frame or at least a part thereof is constructed to be temporarily reduced in size or cross-section by a device such as a pair of pincers, for the purpose of manufacture and/or assembly.

13. A fitting according to any one of the preceding claims, in which a frame comprising the insert is connected to another fitting such as a handle, ash-tray or the like, at least the coupling region between the two parts having a structure which can crumple or fold:

14. A fitting according to any of claims 2 to 6, in which the frame rs combined with an additional fitting such as a handle, ash-tray or the like, the additional fitting being secured to the part of the insert frame remote from the mounting surface and constructed so as to extend towards the mounting surface without bearing against it.

1 5. A fitting, for example an arm-rest or handle, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.