GB2139279A - Fastening for the lid of an automobile compartment - Google Patents

Abstract

The fastening comprises a lever 23 provided with a hook 33, which on fastening engages with a pin 39 fixed to the compartment lid, and which disengages from said pin by the operation of the lever, this occuring both during the opening operation by manoeuvring a cable 22 secured to the lever, and in the event of breakage of said cable by the action of a spring connected to said lever. To enable this, the hook 33 is formed with an L-shaped portion 34, 35, Fig. 2, engageable with the pin 39, the main portion of the lever 23 and hook 33 lying in a plane beyond the end of the pin 39. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Lock for the lid of an automobile compartment This invention relates to a lock for the lid of an automobile compartment, which can be made to open by means of a metal cable, and which is also able to open automatically if said cable develops a fault.

The lids which close the engine compart ment and luggage compartment of automo biles are provided with locks which can be remotely operated, by way of metal cables, by means of levers or knobs disposed in the passenger compartment.

With locks of this type, it is necessary to provide supplementary opening devices, or devices which open them automatically in the event of breakage of the operating cable, in order to prevent them remaining blocked in their fastened position.

The object of the present invention is to provide a cable-operated lock which is of simple construction and of reliable operation both into its fastened and open position, and in the case of breakage of said cable.

The lock according to the invention comprises a lever pivoted in a support frame, which is fixed to a wall of an automobile compartment, and a pin which is rigid with the compartment lid, one arm of the lever being subjected to the return action of a spring fixed to said frame and to the opposing action of an operating cable which can be manoeuvred from the automobile passenger compartment by means of a control device, the lock being characterised in that said lever has its other arm formed as a hook, with one end bent into a substantially L configuration in a plane normal to that of the book, said pin being provided with a substantially horizontal shank which, on fastening the lock, engages with the L-shaped end of said hook.

In order to open the lock, the cable is pulled by means of a control device disposed in the passenger compartment, and the lever is made to rotate against the return action of the spring, so releasing the pin from the Lshaped end of its hook.

Should the cable break, the lever, which is subjected to the return action of the spring, rotates in the opposite direction to the preceding, and again in this case releases the pin from the L-shaped end of its hook, so that the lock remains open.

Characteristics and advantages of the invention will be apparent with reference to Figs. 1 to 4, which show a preferred embodiment of the invention by way of non-limiting example.

Figure 1 is a partly sectional front view of the lock according to the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the lock of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a side sectional view on the line Ill-Ill of Fig. 1; and Figure 4 is a further front view of the same lock.

In the figures, the reference numeral 10 indicates overall a lock for the lid, not shown, of an automobile engine compartment or lug gage compartment.

The lock frame is formed from two walls indicated by 11 and 12, which are joined together at the respective lateral flanges 13, 14 and 15, 16. The reference numerals 17 and 1 8 indicate the holes formed in said flanges for the bolts, not shown, which enable the lock 10 to be fixed to a vertical wall of an automobile compartment. The wall 11 com prises two upper lugs 41 and 42 which are bent towards the wall 1 2. The wall 1 2 itself comprises a central boss of frustoconical form, indicated by 19, and a vertical slot indicated by 20.

A pin 21 is mounted in the walls 11 and 12, and rotatably supports a lever 22 inserted between the wall 11 and the boss 1 9. On the arm 23 of the lever 22 there is pivoted a block 24, which is provided with a through bore into which the metal cable 26 is inserted, and is fixed by means of the adjustment screw 25. The cable 26 is guided by the hole 27 provided in the ledge 28 which projects from the flange 16, and is kept under tension by the cap 29 which is mounted on the cable covering sheath 30 and abuts against the ledge 28.

The cable 26 is connected to a lever or to a control knob, not shown, disposed in the automobile passenger compartment.

A tension spring 31 is hooked at one end to the arm 23 of the lever 22, and at its other end to the ledge 32 projecting from the flange 1 5.

The other arm of the lever 22 is formed as a hook and is indicated by 33. The upper end of the hook is bent into a substantially L configuration in a plane normal to that of the hook, and the arms of the L, which are practically orthogonal to eadh other and are indicated respectively by 34 and 35, are clearly visible in Fig. 2. The arm 34 is provided with a recess indicated by 36, and the arm 35 is provided with an upper chamfered edge indicated by 37.

The reference numeral 38 indicates the pin which is rigid with the lid, not shown, of an automobile compartment. The pin 38 comprises a substantially horizontal shank, which is indicated by 39 and terminates in a projection 40 of height less than the depth of the recess 36 with which the arm 34 is provided.

When the lock 1 0 is fastened, the lever 22 and hook 33 are in the position shown by the full line in Fig. 1, in which they are in equilibrium under the opposing actions of the spring 31 and cable 26. In this position the shank 39 of the pin 38 is engaged with the Lshaped end of the hook 33, and in particular the shank 39 is retained by the arm 35 of the L. When the compartment lid is pushed downwards, the shank 39 of the pin 38 becomes inserted below the hook 33 by virtue of the chamfered edge 37 of the arm 35.

In order to open the lock 10, the cable 26 is pulled by means of a lever or control knob disposed in the automobile passenger compartment. The lever 22 and hook 33 rotate anti-clockwise, to move into the position A indicated by the dashed and dotted line in Fig. 1. The shank 39 of the pin 38 thus disengages from the hook 33, and is free to rise with the lid, under the action of the springs which generally urge said lid into its open state.

Should the cable 26 break, the spring 31 acts on the lever 22 with a traction force which causes it to rotate clockwise, thus moving it into the position B indicated by the dashed and dotted line in Fig. 1.

In this case, the L-shaped end of the hook 33 disengages from the shank 39 of the pin 38 by jumping over it, this being possible by virtue of the recess 36 in the arm 34 which easily enables the projection 40 on said shank 39 to be overcome.

Again in this situation, the pin 38 is free to rise with the lid, thus preventing the lock from remaining blocked in its fastened position.

Claims (3)

1. A lock for the lid of an automobile compartment, comprising a lever pivoted in a support frame, which is fixed to a wall of said compartment, and a pin which is rigid with said lid, one arm of the lever being subjected to the return action of a spring fixed to said frame and to the opposing action of an operating cable which can be manoeuvred from the automobile passenger compartment by means of a control device, the lock being characterised in that said lever has its other arm formed as a hook, with one end bent into a substantially L configuration in a plane normal to that of the hook, said pin being provided with a substantially horizontal shank which, on fastening the lock, engages with the L-shaped end of said hook.

2. A lock as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the L-shaped end of said hook is constituted by a first arm practically orthogonal to the plane of the hook and by a second arm practically parallel to said plane of the hook, the second arm engaging with said pin shank.

3. A lock as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that said pin shank is provided with a projection, and said first arm is provided with a recess having a depth greater than the height of said projection.