GB2124981A - Console for a motor vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

A self-assembly console comprises upstanding longitudinal side panels 12 held apart by a low-level main separator panel 22 and a forward high- level top spacer panel 31 which snap into place by pegs 23, 24, 32, 33 (which are optionally notched) engaging into holes in respective lugs 20, 21, 29, 30, an instrument panel 35 being held in position by its upper and lower edges locating into respective grooves 28 and 34 in the panels 22, 31. An arm rest 36 is supported between the rear ends of the side panels 12, and optional spacers 15, 17 may be provided beneath said rest 36. Where appropriate, the main separator panel 22 may have a gaitered opening 26 for a gear lever and slots 19, 25 may be provided in the spacer 17 and the panel 22 for a brake lever. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Console for a motor vehicle This invention concerns consoles for motor vehicles, and is more particularly concerned with consoles of the kind comprising a body which, when installed, extends alongside the driver's seat, in the front to rear direction of the vehicle, and provides an arm rest at its rear end and an instrument panel at its front end, whereby instruments, such as meters and/or gauges and/or radio, may conveniently be installed in the vehicle.

As hitherto marketed, such consoles are generally in their fully assembled form. Accordingly, each console, as produced, in storage, and in transit, occupies a relatively large volume, being bulky and difficult to wrap and/or stack. Moreover, the consoles usually diverge in width from one end to the other so that they are difficult to pack and store.

An object of the present invention is to provide a construction of console as aforesaid which comprises a pluraiity of separate parts which can be assembled together in a very simple and convenient manner to form the console, so that the latter can, if desired, be distributed as a so-called "selfassemble" product, supplied to the purchaser or user in kit form for the purchaser or user to assemble the console and instal it himself, without having to have any special skills, or can be marketed in a partly-assembled condition, substantially of constant width for ease of packing and storage, requiring a small amount of self-assembly by the purchaser.

With this object in view, the present invention provides a motor vehicle console comprising a body providing at its rear end an arm rest and at its front end an instrument panel, characterised in that the body comprises a spaced-apart pair of upstanding side panels between which is disposed a substantially horizontal main separator panel and at the front end of which is a higher-level top spacer panel, the instrument panel interengaging by its top and bottom edges respectively with the main separator panel and the top spacer panel by engagement into grooves in the latter.

For further facilitating assembly of the console, the main separator panel and/or the top spacer panel are conveniently secured in place by pegs or studs on the main separator panel and/or the top spacer panel engaging into holes in respective lugs projecting from the side panels. These lugs may each be provided by a limb of a respective angle bracket, the other limb of which is fixed to the side panel. The pegs or studs may be notched so as to be a snap engagement with the respective lugs, upon fitting the main separator panel and the top spacer panel to the side panels.

For use in motor vehicles having a fioor-mounted gear lever, the main separator panel is conveniently formed with an aperture for the lever to project upwards therethrough, a gaiter being provided to mask the space between the periphery of the aperture and the gear lever.

Furthermore, when the console is for use in a motor vehicle having a handbrake lever disposed along the middle line of the vehicle alongside the driver's seat, the main separator panel is conveniently formed with a slot extending forwardly from its rear end, for the handbrake lever to project therethrough and overlie the said main separator panel.

For aesthetic purposes, and to ensure that the instrument panel has a relatively large area for the installation of meters and/or other instruments, said instrument panel is advantageously shaped to widen in its upward direction, so that the side walls of the console, at the front part thereof, widen correspondingly.

The front parts of the side panels, of course, preferably increase in height to provide support for the top spacer panel.

Correspondingly, at their rear parts, the side panels are preferably of increased height in comparison with central sections of the side panels, so as to support the arm rest at a convenient height. This arm rest may simply comprise an upholstered slab, rectangular in plan, supported at the top of the rear parts of the side panels.

Further stability may be afforded to the console structure by the provision, beneath the arm rest, of a back spacer and a forward spacer, these spacers being disposed to extend laterally between the side panels and being located in place by screws through the latter engaging into the edges of the spacers.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a practicai embodiment of the console of the invention, the view being taken from the rear end of the console; Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view, looking in the opposite direction as compared with Figure 1 and showing the same console, but with its arm rest removed; and Figure 3 is an enlarged cross section taken on the line Ill-Ill of Figure 1.

As shown, the preferred embodiment of the motor vehicle console of the invention comprises two side panels 10, 11 which are mirror images of one another. They extend side-by-side relative to one another, spaced apart, and each comprises a relatively shallow middle section 12, a roughly lozengeshaped taller or high front end portion 13 and an approximately Z-shaped tall rear end portion 14.

At the rear extremity of the rear end portion 14, a rear spacer block 15, which is substantially parallelsided, is secured between the two side panels 10, 11 by means of screws 16. A somewhat similar intermediate spacer block 17 is similarly secured between the two side panels 10, 11 by screws 18, in an inclined disposition spaced slightly back from the front of the rear end portions 14 of the side panels 10, 11 and projecting to below the top levels of the middle sections 12. The intermediate spacer block 17 is formed with a slot 19 extending upwards from its lower edge and approximately centrally disposed.

At spaced-apart positions along the middle section of each side panel 10, 11 are two angle brackets 20, 21 these each being secured to the respective side panel 10, 11 by one limb and having its other limb horizontally disposed and projecting towards the corresponding limb of the corresponding brackets on the other side panel. These projecting limbs each constitute respective apertured lugs for supporting and locating, from below, a main separator panel 22 which widens slightly in the forward direction of the console, studs or pegs 23,24 on the underside of the panel 22 entering into the apertures in the respective lugs and, if desired, being formed with notches (not visible) which interengage with the lugs to tend to resist unintentional removal of the panel 22.

Along its rear portion, from its rear end, the panel 22 is formed with a respective slot 25 which, when the panel 22 is in place with its pegs 23, 24 engaged with the lugs, registers with the slot 19 in the intermediate spacer block 17. Towards its front end, an aperture 26 is provided through the panel 22 and this is fitted with a flexible gaiter 27 as shown. Close to its front end, a shallow slot 28 is provided across the panel 22 substantially parallel to the front edge of the said panel.

Angle brackets 29,30, similar to the brackets 20, 21, are provided on the front section 13 of each side panel 13, to provide respective lugs at a higher level than the lugs provided by the brackets 20,21. These higher level lugs serve to support, from below, a top spacer panel 31 which has respective studs or pegs 32,33 for engaging with the respective lugs, and which has, adjacent its front edge, and in its undersurface, a slot 34.

The widths of the slots 34 and 28 are such as to receive, snugly, respectively the upper and the lower edges of an upwardly-widening instrument panel 35.

To complete the console, an upholstered and padded arm rest block 36 is supported upon the rear sections 14 of the side panels and by the rear and intermediate spacer blocks 15 and 17 respectively.

This is held in place by a hinge 37 connecting it to the rear spacer block 15, so that it can be swung up to permit access to an interior chamber 40 between the spacer blocks 15 and 17 and whose floor is provided by a bottom panel 41 located beneath the arm rest block 36 by its front and rear edges locating in respective grooves in the spacer blocks 15, 17.

The console can, if desired, be produced in kit form, that is to say it can be supplied to the eventual customer as a kit consisting of the various separated components namely: the two side panels 10, 11 with their brackets 20, 20,21, 29, 30attached, the spacer blocks 15,17, the main separator panel 22 with the gaiter 27 and the studs or pegs 23, 24 attached, the instrument panel 35, the arm rest block 36, and the top spacer panel 31 with its studs or pegs 32, 33 attached. Since all of these components are relatively flat (the gaiter 27 being flexible, of course) they can be packaged in a container or wrapper which is considerably smaller, less cumbersome and more readily handleable than the assembled console.

Accordingly, considerable economic advantages can be achieved in the manufacture, storage, transportation and distribution of the product.

Assembly of the components to form the console is, of course, quite simple. As will be understood from the two Figures of the drawing, one starts off by securing the two side panels 10, 11 to the rear and intermediate spacer blocks 15, 17 by means of the screws 16,18, which is an operation which can be effected by almost anyone. Once this has been achieved, the main spacer panel 22 is simply pressed into place, the instrument panel 35 (fitted with any instruments as may be desired) is located by its bottom edge in the slot 28, and the top spacer panel 31 is then pressed in place, with its studs or pegs 32, 33 interengaging with the lugs provided by the brackets 29, 30.

The console is, of course, installed in conventional manner so as to extend in the front to rear direction of a motor vehicle, along the middle thereof and alongside the driver's seat. The usual floor mounted gear lever projects upwards through the gaiter 27 and the usual handbrake lever projects through the combined slots 19 and 25 and extends forwards above the main spacer panel 22.

The arm rest block 36 is incorporated, of course, when the spacer block 15 is installed in place.

Although the console may be supplied fully dismantled, as just described, it is, quite practicable for it to be supplied with the side panels 10, 11 assembled together with the spacer blocks 15 and 17 as shown in Figure 1 and the remaining parts separate therefrom. This enables the partly assembled console to be packaged in a parallel-sided carton or other container, which affords substantial packaging and storage advantages as compared with the widening fully-assembled configuration of the console. Final assembly of the partly-assembled console will readily be understood from the preceding description of the assembly steps.

The invention is not confined to the precise details of the foregoing example and variations may be made thereto. Thus, the precise shapes and dispositions of the panels and other components may vary from what has been shown. For vehicles where the gear lever is not floor mounted, the gaiter 27 and aperture 26 may be omitted, and the same applies to the slots 19 and 25 in relation to vehicles where the brake lever is positioned elsewhere than described.

The upholstered block 36 does not, of course, have to be constructed to be hingedlysecured in place, to provide access to the space therebeneath and may be fixed. Other variations are, of course, possible.

Claims (11)

1. A motor vehicle console comprising a body providing at its rear end an arm rest and at its front end an instrument panel, characterised in that the body comprises a spaced-apart pair of upstanding side panels between which is disposed a substantially horizontal main separator panel and at the front end of which is a higher-level top spacer panel, the instrument panel interengaging by its top and bottom edges respectively with the main separator panel and the top spacer panel by engagement into grooves in the latter.

2. A motor vehicle console as claimed in claim 1 wherein the main separator panel and/or the top spacer panel are secured in place by pegs or studs on the main separator panel and/or the top spacer panel engaging into holes in respective lugs projecting from the side panels.

3. A motor vehicle console as claimed in claim 2 wherein each lug provided by a limb of a respective angle bracket, the other limb of which is fixed to the side panel.

4. A motor vehicle console as claimed in claim 2 or 3 wherein the pegs or studs are notched so as to be a snap engagement with the respective lugs, upon fitting the main separator panel and the top spacer panel to the side panels.

5. A motor vehicle console as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the main separator panel is formed with an aperture for a gear lever to project upwards therethrough, a gaiter being provided to mask the space between the periphery of the aperture and the gear lever.

6. A motor vehicle console as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the main separator panel is formed with a slot extending forwardly from its rear end, for a handbrake lever to projecttherethrough and overlie the said main separator panel.

7. A motor vehicle console as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the instrument panel is shaped to widen in its upward direction, so that the side walls of the console, at the front part thereof, widen correspondingly.

8. A motor vehicle console as claimed in any preceding claim in which the side panels, at their rear parts, are of increased height in comparison with central sections of the side panels, so as to support the arm rest at a convenient height.

9. A motor vehicle console as claimed in any preceding claim in which the arm rest comprises an upholstered slab, rectangular in plan, supported at the top of the rear parts of the side panels.

10. A motor vehicle console as claimed in any preceding claim, further including beneath the arm rest, a back spacer and a forward spacer, these spacers being disposed to extend laterally between the side panels and being located in place by screws through the latter engaging into the edges of the spacers.

11. A motor vehicle console substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.