Control system with displaceable knob
AssigneeDelphi Technologies, Inc.
InventorsJulien Kreider, Emilie Collin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Control system (10) intended for the choice and the selection of functions in a vehicle, the system (10) comprising a case (14), a lever extending along a main axis from a first end, mounted pivoting about a pivot axis (L, T) to a second end provided with an actuation knob (12), the lever being able to turn about the main axis, and an elastic return device of the lever into a neutral position comprising an action surface in the form of a truncated cone of revolution, the axis of which is the main axis and, on a pivoting of the lever, the active zone is displaced along a generatrix of the cone moving towards the vertex, the elastic means being more biased than in a neutral position.
Claims11
Control system (10) intended for the choice and selection of functions in a vehicle, the system (10) comprising:
- a case (14),
- a lever (18) extending along a main axis (P) from a first end (34), inside the case (14) and mounted pivoting about a pivot axis (T) to a second end (36) outside the case (14) and provided with an actuation knob (12), the lever (18) also being able to turn about the main axis (P),
- an elastic return device cooperating with the lever (18) so that, following a pivoting of the lever (18) this returns by itself to a neutral position (PN) in which the main axis (P) coincides with a neutral axis (N), the return device comprising
- an elastic means (80) cooperating, in an active zone (92), with an action surface (88) attached to the lever (18),
- characterised by the fact that the action surface (88) comprises a surface in the form of a truncated cone of revolution (94), the axis of the cone being the main axis (P), the cone (94) being so orientated that,
- on a pivoting of the lever (18), the active zone (92) is displaced along a generatrix of the cone (94) moving towards its vertex, the elastic means (80) being more biased than in the neutral position (PN).
Control system (10) as described in any one of the preceding claims in which the lever (18) can pivot about two perpendicular axes (L, T) situated in a plane perpendicular to the neutral axis (N), the system (10) including a plurality of return devices distributed about the neutral axis (N).
Control system (10) as described in any one of the preceding claims in which each return device comprises an actuator (82) interposed between the elastic means (80) and the action surface (88), the actuator (82) transmitting the movements of the action surface (88) to the elastic means (80).
Control system (10) as described in any one of the preceding claims in which the lever (18) can in addition translate along the neutral axis (N).
Control system (10) as described in any one of the preceding claims comprising in addition
- a transmission joint having a tubular base (50) able to turn about the neutral axis (N) and a head (54) provided with an axial orifice (68), the head (54) being pivoting relatively to the base (50), the contactor (30) being situated in the tubular base (50) and the lever (18) passing through the joint from one side to the other, the axial orifice (68) having a cross-section complementary to that of the lever (18) so that the head (54) is attached to the lever (18) in rotation and in pivoting, while in translation the lever (18) is free to slide through the head (54) and through the base (50) and,
- a device for indexing the rotation of the lever (18) about the neutral axis (N) being linked to the base (50), the device comprising a notched surface (72) being displaced relatively to an index (74) on rotation of the lever (18) and,
- the action surface (88) of the elastic return device forming part of the head (54) of the joint.
Control system (10) as described in any one of the preceding claims in which the lever (18) extends out of the case (14) through an opening (24) in the shape of a cross so that pivotings of the lever (18) are limited by the branches of the cross.
Control system (10) as described in any one of the preceding claims comprising in addition a device limiting in the neutral position (PN) the possibility of rotation of the lever (18) about the main axis (P), this then coinciding with the neutral axis (N).
Control system (10) as described in any one of the preceding claims in which
- in the neutral position (PN) the faces of the case (14) and of the knob (12) facing each other are distant one from the other so that the knob (12) can be depressed in the direction of the case (14) and in which,
- in the pivoted position of the lever (18), the faces of the case (14) and of the knob (12) facing one another are in contact one with the other so that the knob (12) cannot be depressed in the direction of the case (14).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.