GB2302475A - Movable device for holding a car telephone - Google Patents

Description

1 Movable device for holdine a car telcjphone 2302475 The invention

relates to a movable device for holding a car telephone, having a baseplate which is movably mounted on a bracket and serves for supporting the telephone.

Such a holding device is known from DE 40 34 358 Cl. In this publication, a car telephone is arranged in the region of an armrest between the driver's seat and front seat passenger's seat using pivoting levers in such a way that said car telephone is arranged in a position of use - as is also otherwise customary - in the region of the armrest. However, this car telephone can be pivoted back-wards with its baseplate out of this position of use into an out-ofuse position so that the baseplate is suspended perpendicularly behind the armrest component and the telephone is located in the region behind the front seats and in this position does not impair use of the foldable armrests.

It is also known to arrange the bracket for retrofitting a car telephone in the footwell of the front seat passenger or between the glove compartment and the cover of the upper region of the central console. However, this mounting location cannot be used in relatively small vehicles in which a restricted space is available because of the short distance between the glove compartment and the upper cover of the central console, on which cover for example controls for ventilating or airconditioning the vehicle are located. As a rule, there is no space available between the front seats in such vehicles either.

The present invention seeks to provide a holding device for a car telephone, which holding device can be arranged under restricted spatial conditions in such a way that no impairment of the functioning of other components occurs.

According to the present invention there is provided a movable device for holding a car telephone in a vehicle, the device having a baseplate which is movably mounted on a bracket and serves for supporting the telephone, wherein the bracket is arranged between a glove compartment and central part and the baseplate is moveable between two limit positions, the baseplate being seated, in the first limit position, at least partially in front of a folding door of the glove 2 compartment and being extended, in the second limit position, out of the opening region of this folding door.

By means of such a movable arrangement of the car telephone, it becomes possible to arrange the telephone at an easily accessible location without, however, the opening of the glove compartment being thereby impeded.

In a development of the invention, the baseplate can be folded about a hinge which is mounted on the baseplate on the side facing away from the glove compartment. In another embodiment, the baseplate is provided so as to be capable of sliding on a guide mounted on the bracket.

A quite particularly advantageous development of the invention provides for a locking book to be provided for holding the baseplate in the first position, which locking hook can be activated from the lid of the glove compartment, for example by means of a cable pull. When the folding door of the glove compartment is activated and after the disengagement of the securing means which is brought about as a result of this, the car telephone which is arranged on the baseplate can therefore be conveniently pushed to the side or even arranged in such a way that automatic pivoting away or displacement takes place after the release of the locking hook.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the drawing by means of an exemplary embodiment and explained below. In the said drawing:

Fig. 1 shows the view of the car telephone mounted partially in front of the folding door of the glove compartment, in the first limit position, Fig. 2 shows the section through the arrangement of Fig. 1 along the line II11, Fig. 3 shows the section through the illustration in Fig. 2 along the line IllIll, and Fig. 4 shows the section through the illustration according to Fig. 2 along the line WAV. Fig. 1 shows a portion of a passenger car dashboard which is arranged under a windscreen and, in a known manner, is provided in its central part with an outflow grille 1 for the air supply into the passenger compartment, with a selection switch for the interior ventilation or heating 2 and with a 3 mounting compartment 3, for example for a car radio. This part of the dashboard is continuous at the bottom with a central console, as is known.

To the right, the central part of the dashboard continues into a glove compartment whose lid 4 is partially covered by a car telephone 5 which is attached on a baseplate 6. In the position illustrated it would not be possible to open the lid 4 because the telephone impedes the opening movement. It is clear from Fig. 2 that the baseplate 6 with the telephone 5 is mounted in the intermediate space between the central part 8 and the glove compartment 9 with the aid of a bracket 7, and that the baseplate 6 with the telephone 5 can be pivoted in the direction of the arrows 11 about a hinge 10 provided on the bracket 4 out of the first position shown by continuous lines into the position 6', the baseplate being removed, in this second limit position 6', from the opening region of the lid 4 of the glove compartment 9, so that the said glove compartment 9 can be moved into its open position 4" [Fig. 41 without the telephone arrangement being an obstruction.

Figs. 2 and 3 show that the bracket 7 comprises a moulding which is suspended at one end behind a corresponding projection of the dashboard panelling and is connected to a corresponding flange of a fixedly arranged panelling part 13 at the other end with the aid of a screw 12 with which the glove compartment 9 has also already been mounted, which panelling part 13 starts from a central panelling part 14 which contains the air nozzles 1 or the installation shaft 3 for the car radio.

Furthermore, Fig. 4 shows that the baseplate 6 is held in its first position, which is shown in Fig. 1, by means of a locking hook 15 which is attached to the upper end of the bracket 7 so as to be capable of pivoting in the direction of the arrow 16. This locking hook 15 can be pivoted in an anticlockwise direction out of its locking position [shown in Fig. 41, in which its hook part engages over part of the surface of the baseplate 6, into an opening position in which its locking lug releases the baseplate 6. The latter can then be pivoted about the hinge 10 into its second limit position 6', as shown in Fig. 2.

The locking hook 15 can be opened manually. However, in the exemplary embodiment shown the core 17 of a Bowden cable 18 acts on the left- 4 hand end of the locking hook, that is to say at that end which faces away from its locking lug, which Bowden cable 18 is held on a securing element 19 on the bracket 7 and is plugged with its other end into a securing element 20 which is permanently mounted on the upper part of the glove compartment. The core of the Bowden cable is permanently connected to a pushbutton 21 which, in the position shown in Fig. 4, is pressed to the left by the closed lid 4 of the glove compartment until it strikes against a sleeve-shaped guide and in this position conqwesses a spring 22 which is arranged in it and which surrounds the inner end of the core of the Bowden cable 18. If the lid 4 of the glove compartment is opened, the pushbutton 21 is released and pressed to the right under the effect of the spring 22 until its peripheral stop edge strikes against the inwardly directed edge of the bushing 23. As a result of this movement of the core 17 of the Bowden cable 18, the locking hook 15 is moved in the anti- clocirwise direction out of its locking position to such an extent that the baseplate 6 is released by it. It can then be pivoted into the position 6' according to Fig. 2 so that the lid can be completely pivoted into the opened position 4' [Fig. 4].

In Fig. 2 it is indicated that the baseplate 6 cannot only be pivoted open in the clockwise direction about a hinge 10 located on the side facing away from the glove compartment, so that the movement space for the lid 4 is cleared. Fig. 2 shows also that for example the bracket 7 may be provided on its side facing the baseplate 6 with a guide 24 - indicated by a dotted line - for example in the form of a dovetail groove or the like with or without roller bearings so that it becomes possible to displace the baseplate forwards and back-wards in the direction of the arrows 25 parallel to the attachment part of the bracket 7 in order to displace it to the left out of the position shown in Fig. 2 to such an extent that its right-hand end is aligned with the right-hand edge of the bracket and is moved out of the region of the opening movement of the lid 4. In this case, the car telephone 5 is moved away in its second limit position to such an extent that the opening of the glove compartment 9 is not impeded. In this displaced position, the baseplate 6 with the telephone is then actually located somewhat in front of the central console 8 and therefore in front of the controls 1 or 2. However, after the glove compartment 9 has been closed the said baseplate can be moved back again without difficulty, it being possible also to provide in this case a locking hook similar to the hook 15 in Fig. 4 for locking the first [Fig. 11 position of the baseplate shown. The locking hook would then engage with a projection for example in a depression in the baseplate 6 and hold the latter in position until the Rd 4 of the glove compartment 9 is opened so that unlocking takes place and the baseplate 6 can be pushed to the left. It is of course also possible to configure the arrangement in such a way that the baseplate 6 is moved automatically out of the first limit position into the second limit position. This can take place in a simple design by means of a slightly oblique arrangement of the guide. Of course, a servomotor which is triggered by the movement of the locking hook can also bring about the displacement if a manual displacement is to be dispensed with.

The two variants shown permit a car telephone to be arranged in the field of vision and within the reach of the driver and of the front seat passenger even in the case of designs with very limited spatial conditions in which the arrangement of a car telephone could otherwise lead to the impairment of other functions.

The solution according to the invention also permits a car telephone to be retrofitted. In this case, the bracket 7 is screwed into the already existing attachments of the surrounding housing for the glove compartment in the previously mentioned manner after its other end has been plugged under a cover. Two holes have to be drilled for the Bowden cable 18. For this purpose, a relatively large hole through the surrounding housing of the glove compartment and the dashboard is necessary as well as a relatively small hole in the surrounding housing of the glove compartment. The Bowden cable 18 is then pushed through both holes. At one end, it is attached to the bracket 7 and to the hook 15 as previously described. During mounting it is to be noted that the said Bowden cable 18 is not located in the region of the lid of the glove compartment. The Bowden cable can expediently ran between the lid 4 of the glove compartment and the housing of the central console 8. With such mounting there are no visible openings when the telephone is fitted onto the securing means on the baseplate 6.

6

Claims (4)

Claims

1. A movable device for holding a car telephone, the device having a baseplate which is movably mounted on a bracket and serves for supporting the telephone, wherein the bracket is arranged between a glove compartment and central part and the baseplate is moveable between two limit positions, the baseplate being seated, in the first limit position, at least partially in front of a folding door of the glove compartment and being extended, in the second limit position, out of the opening region of this folding door.

2. A movable device according to Claim 1, wherein the baseplate is foldable about a hinge which is mounted on the baseplate on the side facing away from the glove compartment.

3. A movable device according to Claim 1, wherein the baseplate is displaceably arranged on a guide which is provided on the bracket.

4. A movable device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein a locking hook is provided for fixing the baseplate in the first position5. A movable device according to Claim 4, the locking book is adapted to he activated from the lid of the glove compartment- 6. A movable device according to Claim 5, wherein a Bowden cable leads from a pushbutton, which is moved by the lid, to the locking hook- 7. A movable device according to Claim 6, wherein a spring is provided for moving the core of the Bowden cable, the said spring moving the pushbutton, when the folding door of the glove compartment opens, out of a first position in which the said pushbutton is held by the closed folding door of the glove compartment into a second position in which the locking hook releases the baseptate- 9 8. A movable device according to any one of Claims 4 to 7, wherein the locking hook comprises a pivotable hook which acts on the upper region of the baseplate.

9- A movable device for holding a car telephone, substantially as described herein with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.

4. A movable device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein a locking hook is provided for fixing the baseplate in the first position.

5. A movable device according to Claim 4, the locking hook is adapted to be activated from the lid of the glove compartment.

6. A movable device according to Claim 5, wherein a Bowden cable leads from a pushbutton, which is moved by the lid, to the locking hook.

7. A movable device according to Claim 6, wherein a spring is provided for moving the core of the Bowden cable, the said spring moving the pushbutton, when the folding door of the glove compartment opens, out of a first position in which the said pushbutton is held by the closed folding door of the glove compartment into a second position in which the locking hook releases the baseplate.

7 8. A movable device according to any one of Claims 4 to 7, wherein the locking hook comprises a pivotable hook which acts on the upper region of the baseplate.

9. A movable device for holding a car telephone, substantially as described herein with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompany g drawings.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows I- A movable device for holding a car telephone, the device having a baseplate which is movably mounted on a bracket and serves for supporting the telephone, wherein the bracket is arranged between a glove compartment and central part of a dashboard and the baseplate is moveable between two limit positions, the baseplate being seated, in the first limit position, at least partially in front of a folding door of the glove compartment and being extended, in the second limit position, out of the opening region of this folding door.

2. A movable device according to Claim 1, wherein the baseplate is foldable about a hinge which is mounted on the baseplate on the side facing away from the glove compartment.

3. A movable device according to Claim 1, wherein the baseplate is displaceably arranged on a guide which is provided on the bracket.