GB2092695A - Operating device for control cable and instrument panels incorporating such a device - Google Patents

Abstract

An instrument panel comprises a housing (1) having a front display surface (2) for an array of instruments, and a device (10) for operating a control cable (33) mounted on the housing, the device comprising a rotatable drum (20) on the interior of the housing, a drive member (23) for rotating the drum on one side of the housing, and a flexible control member (30) arranged to be wound on and off the drum. The drum has a circumferential surface (25) carrying indicia (26) which are visible through a window (5) in the display surface thereby indicating the position of the drum. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Operating device for control cables and instrument panels incorporating such a device This invention relates to operating devices for control cables and to instrument panels incorporating such devices.

German Patent Publication DAS 2405321 disclosed an operating device for a control cable comprising a support, a drum mounted for rotation abouts its axis on the support, a drive wheel for rotating the drum, and a flexible control member attached at one end to the drum and at its other end to a core wire of a Bowden cable and arranged to be wound on and off the drum.

Rotation of the drive member produces axial movement of the core wire of the Bowden cable.

In utilising such a device in an instrument panel of, for example, a motor vehicle, it is desirable to provide indicia showing the orientation of the drum relative to the support. With conventional drive wheels, such indicia are provided on the surface of the support circumferentially around the drive wheel.

In instrument panels in which a plurality of instruments are arranged to be visible in a single display surface, such a device may be difficult to accommodate in the available space, and may also be difficult or confusing to read if positioned close to adjacent devices of a similar type. Moreover, the indicia can be obscured by the user's hand during adjustment of the device.

According to the present invention, there is provided an operating device for a control cable comprising a mounting, a drum carried by the mounting for rotation about its axis, a drive member for rotating the drum, and a flexible control member attached to the drum and arranged to be wound on and off the drum when the drum is rotated, characterised in that the drum is provided with a cylindrical surface extending around the axis of the drum and carrying indicia for indicating the rotational position of the drum.

The invention also provides an instrument panel comprising a housing and a device for operating a control cable mounted on the housing, the device comprising a drum rotatable about an axis and positioned on the interior of the housing, a drive member outside the housing for rotating the drum, and a flexible control member attached to the drum and arranged to be wound on and off the drum when the drum is rotated about the axis, characterised in that the drum includes a cylindrical surface extending around the axis and carrying indicia for indicating the rotational position of the drum, and in that the housing includes a display surface for instruments and or controls mounted in the panel, and a window in the display surface in registry with the cylindrical surface through which the indicia is visible.

By providing the indicia on a cylindrical surface extending around the axis of the drum, the indicia can be positioned remote from the drive member so that they remain visible during adjustment of the device. Moreover by mounting the device in an instrument panel so that the cylindrical surface is viewed through a window in the display surface of the panel, the state of adjustment of the device can be read quickly and easily, and the device can more readily be accommodated in the panel to produce a visually attractive display.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the display surface is included in a front part of the housing and the drive member, for example a control wheel, is mounted on one side of the housing. In this way adjustment of the device can be effected by an observer in front of the panel without obscuring any of the display surface.

In order to provide a compact construction, the drum preferably includes a hub on to which the flexible control member may be wound, and the cylindrical surface is spaced radially outwardly from the hub. The drum may be conveniently produced as an integral moulding of plastics material.

The flexible control member may be adapted at its other end for attachment to a core element of a Bowden cable or alternatively, may itself constitute the core element of such a cable.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of a part of an instrument panel in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is an axial cross-section through an operating device according to the invention mounted in the panel of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a side view of part of the device of Figure 2.

Figures 3A and B are cross-sectional views of the part illustrated in Figure 3 taken along lines A-A and B-B respectively.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of another part of the device of Figure 2, and Figures 5A and 5B are plan and side views still another part of the device of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 illustrates schematically an instrument panel for a motor vehicle which includes a generally box-shaped housing 1 having a front surface indicated generally at 2 which incorporates an array of switches 3 and instruments 4. Two windows 5, 6 are positioned in the front surface 2 in a visually attractive and easily viewable position towards one side 7 of the housing 1.

In the side 7 of the instrument panel, behind the windows 5, 6 are mounted two similar operating devices 10, 11 for control cables. In view of the similarity of the devices only one 1 0, will be described.

As seen in Figures 2 to 5, the operating device 10 comprises a mounting plate 12 secured to the internal surface of the side 7 housing 1. The plate 12 carried a bearing 13, which is received in an aperture 14 in the housing 1, and a guide 1 6 defining an arcuate surface 17 (Fig. 3) around the bearing 13 and a tube 1 8 of rectangular crosssection extending tangentially away from the circular surface 17. The mounting plate 12 and guide 1 6 are formed as a one piece plastics moulding, the plate 12 and the opposing side of the tubular part of the guide 16 being provided with equally spaced, offset apertures 1 9 to accommodate the moulding tool, and indicated in Figures 3A and 3B.

A drum 20 also formed as an integral moulding of plastics material, is rotatably mounted on the plate 12 by means of a spindle 21 which projects axially from a hub 22 of the drum. A control wheel 23 mounted on the spindle 21 outside the housing 1 allows the drum 20 to be rotated.

The hub 22 is received within the arcuate surface 17 of the guide 1 6 and is spaced radially inwardly therefrom to define an arcuate extension 24 (Fig. 3) of the tube 18 around the axis of the drum 20. The drum 20 has a cylindrical display surface 25 positioned radially outwardly from the hub 22 extending around the axis of the drum 20 and carrying indicia 26 (Fig. 4) which register with the window 5 in the housing 1 to indicate the orientation of the drum 20.

A flexible belt 30, shown separately in Figure 5, is secured by a tab 31 at one end to a slot 32 in the hub 22. The other end is provided with a hole into which the core 34 of a Bowden cable 33 is hooked. The belt 30 has in the channel 1 8 and the extension 24 thereof formed by the arcuate surface 12 and the hub 22. Rotation of the drum 20 by the control wheel 23 thus causes the belt 30 to wind on or off the hub 22, thereby moving the core 32 in the cable 33. The other end of the core 32 is fixed in a conventional manner to a device to be operated (now shown) e.g. a ventilator flap or valve.

In an alternative arrangement, the belt is in one piece with the core 32 of the cabie, e.g. as a wire of plastics material, the guide 16 being suitably modified to prevent the wire from bending when wound off the drum 22.

In use, the devices 10, 11 are adjusted from the side of the panel, so that the operator has a clear view of the display surface 2 of the panel during adjustment. The windows 5, 6, are incorporated into small spaces in the display surface 2 without loss of visibility and in a visually attractive manner.

Claims (10)

1 An operating device for a control cable comprising a mounting, a drum carried by the mounting for rotation about its axis, a drive member for rotating the drum, and a flexible control member attached to the drum and arranged to be wound on and off the drum when the drum is rotated, characterised in that the drum is provided with a cylindrical surface extending around the axis of the drum and carrying indicia for indicating the rotational position of the drum.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the cylindrical surface is formed integrally with the drum.

3. A device according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the drum includes a hub on to which the flexible control member may be wound, and the display surface is spaced radially outwardly from the hub.

4. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the flexible control member is adapted for attachment at its other end to a core element of a Bowden cable.

5. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the flexible control member comprises a core element of a Bowden cable.

6. A device for operating a control cable substantially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated in the drawings.

7. An instrument panel comprising a housing and a device for operating a control cable mounted on the housing, the device comprising a drum rotatable about an axis and positioned on the interior of the housing, a drive member outside the housing for rotating the drum, and a flexible control member attached to the drum and arranged to be wound on and off the drum when the drum is rotated about the axis, characterised in that the drum includes a cylindrical surface extending around the axis and carrying indicia for indicating the rotational position of the drum, and in that the housing includes a display surface for instruments and or controls mounted in the panel and a window in the display surface in registry with the cylindrical surface through which the indicia are visible.

8. An instrument panel according; to claim 8 wherein the display surface is included in a front part of the housing, and the drive member is mounted on one side of the housing.

9. An instrument panel according to claim 7 or claim 8 wherein the said device is as defined in any one of claims 1 to 6.

10. An instrument panel substantially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated in the drawings.