Patent Application
20080122239
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates a vehicle overhead console having a drop down occupant mirror assembly.
2. Background Art
The vehicle overhead consoles are known. Vehicle overhead consoles typically comprise a plastic housing having convenience lights and one or more storage compartments. Examples of known overhead consoles can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,822,023; 6,690,803; and 7,055,883.
According to at least one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle overhead console assembly is provided. The vehicle overhead console assembly is mountable in a vehicle having an occupant compartment. In at least one embodiment, the assembly comprises a console body having an exterior surface which would face the occupant compartment when mounted in a vehicle and an opposed interior surface which would face away from the occupant compartment when mounted in a vehicle, and a drop down mirror assembly supported by the console body. In at least one embodiment, the drop down mirror assembly comprises a support member having a generally horizontal door panel and a support panel extending generally transverse from the door panel, with the support panel having a support face having a mirror secured thereto, and the drop down assembly having a first position wherein the door panel is generally flush with the exterior surface of the console body with the support panel being generally above the exterior surface of the console body and a second position wherein the door panel and the support panel and mirror are generally below the exterior surface of the console body.
In at least another embodiment, the vehicle overhead console assembly comprises a console body having an exterior surface facing in a first direction and an interior surface facing in a second direction opposite the first direction, a storage compartment pivotally attached to the console body and being pivotally moveable between an open and a closed position, and a drop down mirror assembly secured to the console body and being linearly moveable between a first stored position and a second in use position.
In at least yet another embodiment, the vehicle overhead console assembly comprises a console body having an exterior surface which would face the occupant compartment when mounted in the vehicle and an opposed interior surface which would face away from the occupant compartment when mounted in the vehicle, and a drop down mirror assembly supported by the console body. In at least one embodiment, the drop down mirror assembly comprises a support member having a generally horizontal door panel and a support panel extending generally transverse from the door panel having a support face having a convex mirror secured thereto. The drop down assembly is linearly moveable between a first position with the door panel being generally flush with the exterior surface of the console body and the support panel being generally above the exterior surface of the console body and a second position with the door panel, the support panel, and the mirror being generally below the exterior surface of the console body. The drop down mirror assembly is storable in the first position wherein the mirror is hidden from an occupant and linearly movable to the second position where the mirror is viewable by an occupant. In at least one embodiment, the console assembly further comprises a storage compartment pivotally attached to the console body and pivotally moveable between an open position and a closed position.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The Figures are not necessarily to scale, some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for the claims and/or as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
Moreover, except where otherwise expressly indicated, all numerical quantities in this description and in the claims are to be understood as modified by the word “about” in describing the broader scope of this invention. Practice within any numerical limits stated is generally preferred. Also, unless expressly stated to the contrary, the description of a group or class of materials by suitably or preferred for a given purpose in connection with the invention implies that mixtures of any two or more members of the group or class may be equally suitable or preferred.
Referring now to the Figures a perspective view of an embodiment of a vehicle overhead console in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention is generally shown at 10 in
The vehicle overhead console assembly 10 includes a console body 12 which may be made of any suitable material but is typically an injection molded plastic component. In at least the illustrated embodiment, one or more exemplary various storage compartment doors 14 and 16 and convenience lights 18 are attached to or supported within the console body 12.
As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, the one or more compartment door 14 and 16 can be any conventional pivotally connectable storage bins of various sizes, shapes and design. As would be further appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, the vehicle overhead console assembly 10 may be installed in a wide variety of vehicles that may include automobiles, trucks, buses, airplanes, water crafts, trains and the like. Similarly, the vehicle console assembly 10 may be located anywhere within the vehicle for convenient access.
The vehicle overhead console assembly 10 includes a drop down mirror assembly 20. The drop down mirror assembly 20 can be supported by the console body 12 (or mirror casing 25, as shown in
The door panel 22 is normally latched with the console body 12 when the drop down assembly 20 is in the stowed or stored position. Any suitable latching mechanism can be employed. In at least one embodiment, the drop down assembly 20 includes a latch mechanism (striker) on the door panel 22 that cooperates with a catch mechanism (latch) on the stationary portion of the console, as is known in the art. The latching mechanism in at least one embodiment comprise a push-push latch mechanism as is known in the art. In ate least other embodiments, the latching mechanism could be a magnetic system or a track mechanism.
The drop down mirror assembly 20 includes a support member 24 that is connected with and adjacent the door panel 22. The support member 24 is housable within mirror casing 25. In at least the illustrated embodiment, the support member 24 is generally horizontal. The support member 24 extends generally transverse to the door panel 22. The support member 24 includes a support face 26 upon which a mirror 30 is secured. The support face 26 can be any suitable shape and/or size, however, in at least one embodiment, the support face is 7.5 to 25 cm in length (from one side of the vehicle to the other) and 4 to 10 cm in height.
In at least one embodiment, the mirror is convex to enable a broader view of the vehicle interior. The mirror 30 can be secured to the support face 26 in any suitable manner and in at least one embodiment is secured by a suitable adhesive.
As best shown in
In at least one embodiment, as best shown in
The drop down mirror assembly 20 further includes a drive mechanism, schematically shown at 50, for linearly driving the drop down mirror assembly 20 between the stored and in use positions. Any suitable drive and/or dampening mechanism can be used. An exemplary drive mechanism 50 is illustrated in
The drop down mirror assembly 20 can be selectively positionable from the stowed or stored position (illustrated in
To move the drop down mirror assembly 20 to the use position, the drop down mirror assembly 20 is unlatched from the console body 12 and the assembly is allowed to move to the use position. Typically a drive mechanism or some type of biasing member will urge the drop down mirror assembly 20 to the use position. When the drop down mirror assembly 20 is no longer needed an occupant can push on the door panel 20 and return the drop down mirror assembly 20 to be latched with the console body 12 to return the assembly to the stowed position.
While embodiments of the invention that have been illustrated and described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention. Moreover, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
