RELEASE MECHANISM
A release mechanism generates a force on a cable to operate an adjustment mechanism or the like in a seat or other device. The release mechanism includes a rotor, a housing, a spring, and a cover that attaches to the housing. The spring generates a torque, and the spring also axially biases the rotor into engagement with the cover to prevent rattling.
This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/315,797, filed Dec. 9, 2011, and entitled “RELEASE MECHANISM,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONSeats for motor vehicles and the like may include one or more adjustment features such as a seat back tilt mechanism that selectively retains the seat back in a position selected by a user. The seat may include additional adjustment features such as fore-aft sliding of the seat relative to the vehicle floor, and other such adjustment features. Various types of mechanisms have been developed to retain the seat components in a desired position. Such mechanisms may be actuated by a cable that is connected to a manually-operated release mechanism by an elongated cable. Also, elongated cables may be utilized to operably interconnect a lever or other release member located inside a vehicle to a component such as a hood release latch. Various mechanisms for manual user input have been developed. However, known mechanisms may suffer from various drawbacks.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONOne aspect of the present invention is a release mechanism of the type utilized to shift an elongated connector to selectively release an adjustment mechanism. The release mechanism includes a housing defining a pivot element, and a rotor disposed within the housing and pivotably engaging the pivot element for rotation about an axis. The rotor is adapted to be manually rotated by a user, and the rotor includes a connecting feature that provides for connecting an end of an elongated flexible cable to the rotor, such that rotation of the rotor shifts the elongated flexible cable. The release mechanism also includes a helical coil spring having a first end connected to the housing, and a second end connected to the rotor. The coil spring is rotationally deformed to rotationally bias the rotor for rotation in a first direction about the axis, and the coil spring is also compressed, and biases the rotor axially away from the housing along the axis.
The housing may include a separate cover that snaps onto a main portion of the housing during assembly. The housing and rotor can be utilized in either a “left hand” or “right hand” orientation. The housing and rotor may be symmetrical about a center plane, and the direction of the rotational bias of the rotor can be changed by selecting a helical coil that generates either a clockwise or counter clockwise torque on the rotor. Also, the housing may include connecting features whereby a cable can be interconnected to the housing of the release mechanism at either of two opposite side faces of the housing.
The release mechanism may include a rotation-limiting feature such as a boss on the rotor and corresponding arcuate slot on the housing to limit rotation of the rotor relative to the housing. During assembly, the rotor is rotated against the spring bias relative to the main portion of the housing, and the rotor is shifted axially to move the boss into the arcuate slot. Friction between the boss and a side surface of the arcuate slot prevents shifting of the rotor that could otherwise occur due to the axial bias of the helical coil spring.
These and other features, advantages, and objects of the present invention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following specification, claims, and appended drawings.
For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,” “left,” “rear,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in
With reference to
A release mechanism 10 is operably interconnected to the adjustment mechanism 4 by an elongated cable 11. The release mechanism 10 includes a movable input member such as a handle 12 that is movable as indicated by the arrow “R” by a user to selectively release adjustment mechanism 4 to permit tilting of the seat back 3.
With further reference to
Rotor 20 includes a generally cylindrical extension 42 having a plurality of teeth or splines 44 that engage corresponding teeth or splines 46 on an interior portion of extension 47 of handle 12 in a known manner to interconnect rotor 20 and handle 12. A pair of transverse slots 48 receive a clip or other retainer (not shown) to retain handle 12 to rotor 20 in a conventional manner.
Housing 14 includes a plurality of wedges 52 that protrude from sidewalls 41C, 41D, and 41E. Wedges 52 are received in openings 53 formed in transverse flaps or extensions 54 (see also
With further reference to
With further reference to
The protrusions 74 also define convex cylindrical outer surfaces 78 that face the concave cylindrical surfaces 73 of pads 72 of cylindrical sidewall 70. When assembled, the space between surfaces 73 and 78 receives end portion 80 (
During assembly, end 26 of spring 25 (
After the temporary subassembly of housing 14 and rotor 20 is formed. Bushings 38 are assembled with housing 14, and end fitting 32 of cable 11 is positioned in connector 30A or connector 30B of arm 34 of rotor 20. It will be understood that these operations may be performed either before rotor 20 is installed in housing 14, or after rotor 20 is installed in housing 14. Cover 16 is then snapped onto housing 14 and retained thereon by wedges 52 and openings 53.
Referring back to FIG. 4., After the cover 16 and housing 14 are assembled, spring 25 shifts rotor 20 towards cover 16 slightly, such that annular bearing surface 90 of extension 42 of rotor 20 slidably engages an annular bearing surface 88 formed around opening 89 of cover 16. The engagement of bearing surfaces 88 and 90 prevents rattling of rotor 20 when installed to a seat, yet permits some variation in the sizing of the components.
When assembled, outer surface 82 (
During assembly, handle 12 is positioned on extension 42 of rotor 20, and a clip or other retainer (not shown) is positioned in engagement with transverse slots 48 of extension 42 to thereby retain the handle 12.
Because the rotor 20 can be temporarily assembled with housing 14, rotor 20 does not need to be retained in position relative to housing 14 by a fixture or the like while cover 16 is installed. Thus, assembly of release mechanism 10 is simplified. Also, as discussed above, the axial bias of spring 25 ensures that the bearing surface 90 of rotor 20 remains in sliding engagement with the corresponding bearing surface 88 of cover 16. The bearing surfaces 88 and 90 may comprise low friction materials, such that very little frictional resistance is generated. This permits spring 25 to have a relatively low torsional stiffness to return handle 12 to the rest position.
With further reference to
The overall length “L3” of spring 25 in an unstressed or free state is 34.34 mm as shown in
As discussed above, the installed length L2 of spring 25 is greater than the solid height or length of spring 25. Accordingly, when spring 25 is installed in mechanism 10 spring 25 is in a compressed state. When spring 25 is in the compressed (installed) state, the spacing between the individual coils of spring 25 is reduced, and spring 25 generates a biasing force tending to expand the length of spring 25. As discussed above, this biasing force insures that bearing surface 90 of rotor 20 remains in sliding engagement with corresponding bearing surface 88 of cover 16.
As also discussed above, mechanism 10 may be assembled by temporarily assembling rotor 20 with housing 14, with friction between extensions 64 and end 66 (or end 68) of arcuate slot 62 to generate friction sufficient to prevent axial bias of spring 25 from shifting rotor 20 relative to housing 14. Alternatively, mechanism 10 may also be assembled as follows. First, housing 14 may be positioned in a fixture (not shown) or otherwise retained in a generally horizontal orientation with interior space 18 (
Due to the axial compression (deflection), spring 25 generates about 24N of axial force when assembled. This axial force biases rotor 20 away from housing 14, and into engagement with cover 16. Also, when assembled the rotational deflection or deformation of spring 25 causes the spring 25 to be preloaded such that it generates a torsional force of about 250 N-mm. Thus, when assembled spring 25 simultaneously generates a substantial axial biasing force and a substantial torsional biasing force.
The axial force/bias acting on rotor 20 ensures that the rotor does not rattle, and substantially eliminates noises from vibrations or the like. Furthermore, spring 25 has a longer length than conventional torsion springs utilized in prior mechanisms. The longer length allows spring 25 to have a lower torsional spring constant, thereby reducing the spring biasing force acting on the handle 12 (
It is to be understood that variations and modifications can be made on the aforementioned structure without departing from the concepts of the present invention, and further it is to be understood that such concepts are intended to be covered by the following claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.
Claims
1. A release mechanism of the type that shifts an elongated connector to selectively release an adjustment mechanism, the release mechanism comprising:
- a housing defining a pivot element;
- a rotor pivotably engaging the pivot element for rotation about an axis, wherein the rotor is adapted to be manually rotated by a user; and wherein the rotor includes a connecting feature that provides for connecting an end of an elongated flexible cable to the rotor such that rotation of the rotor shifts the elongated flexible cable; and
- a helical coil spring having a first end connected to the housing, and a second end connected to the rotor, the coil spring being simultaneously compressed and rotationally deformed and simultaneously axially biasing the rotor axially away from the housing along the axis and rotationally biasing the rotor for rotation in a first direction about the axis.
2. The release mechanism of claim 1, wherein:
- the rotor includes a cavity;
- the pivot element comprises a boss that is received in the cavity to rotatably interconnect the rotor and the housing; and
- the helical coil spring is disposed inside the cavity of the rotor.
3. The release mechanism of claim 2, wherein:
- the housing includes a first spring-connecting structure, and the rotor includes a second spring-connecting structure; and
- the coil spring comprises a helical wire coil having a plurality of coils that are disposed around the boss, and includes a first end engaging the housing and a second end engaging the rotor and generating a rotational bias.
4. The release mechanism of claim 2, wherein:
- the rotor includes a central portion having a cylindrical inner surface defining the cavity;
- the boss includes a cylindrical outer surface that is spaced apart from the cylindrical inner surface to define an annular gap therebetween; and
- the coil spring is disposed in the annular gap.
5. The release mechanism of claim 1, wherein:
- the housing includes first and second portions that are spaced apart to define a gap, and wherein the rotor defines a central portion disposed in the gap, and wherein the spring biases the central portion of the rotor away from the first portion of the housing towards the second portion of the housing, and wherein the rotor slidably engages the second portion of the housing.
6. The release mechanism of claim 5, wherein:
- the housing comprises a first sidewall and an outer sidewall extending transversely from the first sidewall to define a cavity having an open side, and wherein the second portion of the housing comprises a cover closing off at least a portion of the cavity.
7. The release mechanism of claim 6, wherein:
- the cover includes an opening therethrough, and wherein the rotor includes an internal portion disposed in the cavity and an elongated extension extend from the internal portion outwardly through the opening to define an external portion.
8. The release mechanism of claim 7, wherein:
- the external portion includes a handle extending in a direction that is transverse to the axis.
9. The release mechanism of claim 8, wherein:
- the external portion comprises a plurality of outwardly facing teeth, and wherein the handle comprises a separate component having a plurality of inwardly extending teeth engaging the outwardly facing teeth.
10. The release mechanism of claim 7, wherein:
- the housing includes a generally annular groove extending around the boss, and the rotor includes an end portion movably disposed in the groove.
11. The release mechanism of claim 1, wherein:
- the housing includes a first retaining feature;
- the rotor includes a second retaining feature; and
- the first retaining feature engages the second retaining feature such that the rotor does not shift axially out of engagement with the housing due to the bias of the coil spring unless an external force is applied to the rotor to axially shift the rotor to disengage the first and second retaining features.
12. The release mechanism of claim 11, wherein:
- the rotor is axially movable relative to the housing between first and second axial positions, and wherein axial movement of the rotor relative to the housing from the first position to the second position disengages the first and second retaining features such that the first and second retaining features do not restrict rotation of the rotor relative to the housing when the rotor is in the second position relative to the housing.
13. The release mechanism of claim 12, wherein:
- the rotational bias of the coil spring causes the second stop surface to be biased into contact with the first stop surface.
14. The release mechanism of claim 13, wherein:
- the first stop surface comprises an end surface of an arcuate slot of the housing; and
- the second stop surface comprises an extension of the rotor that is disposed in the arcuate slot when the rotor is in the first axial position, and wherein the extension is disposed outside of the arcuate slot when the rotor is in the second axial position.
15. A release mechanism of the type that shifts an elongated connector to selectively release an adjustment mechanism, the release mechanism comprising:
- a housing;
- a rotor pivotably engaging the housing for rotation about an axis, the rotor having a generally hollow central portion defining a cavity, and wherein the rotor includes a connecting feature that provides for connecting an end of an elongated flexible cable to the rotor such that rotation of the rotor shifts the elongated flexible cable; and
- a coil spring having a first end connected to the housing, and a second end connected to the rotor, wherein a plurality of coils of the coil spring are disposed within the cavity of the rotor, and wherein the spring is rotationally deformed to rotationally bias the rotor for rotation in a first direction about the axis.
16. The release mechanism of claim 15, wherein:
- the housing includes a boss that is received in the cavity to rotatably interconnect the rotor and the housing.
17. The release mechanism of claim 16, wherein:
- the hollow central portion includes a generally cylindrical inner surface defining the cavity.
18. The release mechanism of claim 17, wherein:
- the boss comprises a generally cylindrical outer surface that is spaced apart from the cylindrical inner surface of the rotor to define an annular space therebetween, and wherein the spring comprises a helical coil spring that is disposed in the annular space.
19. The release mechanism of claim 15, wherein:
- the housing defines first and second side portions and a space between the first and second side portions, and wherein at least a portion of the rotor is disposed in the space;
- the coil spring is compressed and generates an axial force biasing the rotor away from the first side portion of the housing towards the second side portion of the housing.
20. A release mechanism, comprising:
- a housing having first and second portions;
- a rotor pivotably engaging the housing for rotation about an axis; and
- a spring defining a first length when the spring is in a free state wherein the spring is not compressed or stretched, and wherein the spring is in a compressed state when assembled in the release mechanism to define a second length that is substantially shorter than the first length, the spring biasing the rotor axially along the axis away from the first portion of the housing towards the second portion of the housing.
21. The release mechanism of claim 20, wherein:
- the spring comprises a coil spring that torsionally biases the rotor in addition to axially biasing the rotor.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 18, 2014
Publication Date: Jun 12, 2014
Inventor: Mark G. Tomandl (Coral, MI)
Application Number: 14/183,038
International Classification: F16C 1/12 (20060101);