Flap system for a handle arrangement

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12454852-B2
Application number	US-202318311503-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 3, 2023
Priority date	May 3, 2022
Publication date	Oct 28, 2025
Grant date	Oct 28, 2025

Abstract

A flap system for impairing with an undesired deployment of a handle of a handle arrangement of a motor vehicle includes: a body, an axle and a reversibly deformable member, the body being rotatable around the axle and including a flap and a driving member, the flap system tilting about the axle between a blocking configuration and a disengaged configuration. The reversibly deformable member maintains the flap system in the blocking configuration, the flap system moving to the disengaged position by actuation of the driving member triggering the deformation of the reversibly deformable member and the rotation of the body around the axle. When the flap system is mounted in the handle arrangement, the flap, in the disengaged position, is spaced apart from the handle to allow its deployment and, in the blocking configuration, faces the handle to prevent its deployment.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A handle arrangement of a motor vehicle comprising:
a rotatably mounted handle moving from a stowed position, a deployed position, and an operative position in which the handle causes an unlatch of a door;
a flap system for impairing an undesired deployment of the handle of the handle arrangement, the flap system comprising a body, an axle and a reversibly deformable member, the body being rotatable around the axle and comprising a flap and a driving member,
wherein the flap system rotates about the axle between a blocking configuration and a disengaged configuration, the reversibly deformable member maintaining the flap system in the blocking configuration, wherein the flap system moves to the disengaged configuration by actuation of the driving member triggering the deformation of the reversibly deformable member and the rotation of the body around the axle,
wherein when the flap system is mounted in the handle arrangement and the flap is in the disengaged configuration, the flap is spaced apart from the handle to allow deployment of the handle, and wherein when the flap is in the blocking configuration, the flap faces the handle to prevent deployment of the handle; and

a deployment system of the handle configured to cause rotating of the flap system from the blocking configuration to the disengaged configuration by cooperation with the driving member, the deployment system comprising a push lever, a steering lever and a front lever, each pivotable about a respective axle,
wherein the handle is fixed to the front lever by a front extremity and being rotatable about the front lever,
wherein the steering lever is arranged to push against the handle to make the handle pivot about the front lever and move from the stowed position to the deployed position,
wherein the push lever comprises an engaging arm for preventing, in the stowed position, the steering lever to push against the handle, the engaging arm being spaced apart from the steering lever to let the handle moving from the stowed position to the deployed position,
wherein the engaging arm of the push lever comprises a housing into which the driving member is arranged,
wherein the flap system rotates forward about the axle to move from the blocking configuration to the disengaged configuration and backwards to return from the disengaged configuration to the blocking configuration,
wherein, in the blocking configuration, the driving member faces a wall of the housing preventing the flap system to rotates backwards about the axle, and
wherein the wall of the housing engages and pushes against the driving member when the engaging arm is spaced apart from the steering lever, causing the flap system to move from the blocking configuration to the disengaged configuration.

2. The handle arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the driving member is arranged to cooperate with a deployment system of the handle arrangement for actuating the titling of the flap system from the blocking configuration to the disengaged configuration when the flap system is mounted in the handle arrangement.

3. The handle arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the reversibly deformable member is arranged to cooperate with a bracket of the handle arrangement when the flap system is mounted in the handle arrangement.

4. The handle arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the reversibly deformable member is configured to resist rotation of the body about the axle at an acceleration of up to 300 m/s 2 .

5. The handle arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the reversibly deformable member is a helical coil spring.

6. The handle arrangement according to claim 5 , wherein the body comprises a retention member and one extremity of the helical coil spring is arranged in the said retention member, the retention member extending along with the driving member.

7. The handle arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the flap and/or the driving member is “L” shaped.

8. The handle arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the body has a core member which is hollow tube shaped and cooperates with the axle, the flap and/or the driving member extending from the core member.

9. The handle arrangement according to claim 8 , wherein the flap and the driving member extend orthogonally from the core member of the body.

10. The handle arrangement according to claim 1 ,
wherein the handle comprises a counter-engaging member,
wherein the flap, in the blocking configuration of the flap system, faces the counter-engaging member causing the handle to be blocked in its stroke of rotation from the stowed position to the deployed position by the contact between the counter-engaging member and the flap,
and wherein the flap, in the disengaged configuration of the flap system, is spaced apart from the counter-engaging member allowing the handle to move from the stowed position to the deployed position.

11. The handle arrangement according to claim 10 , wherein the flap system is arranged to move from the blocking configuration to the disengaged configuration when the flap is pushed by the counter-engaging member of the handle returning from the deployed position to the stowed position.

Assignees

• U Shin Italia Spa

Inventors

• Peynot Thomas

Classifications

• E05B77/04 Primary

  Preventing unwanted lock actuation, e.g. unlatching, at the moment of collision · CPC title

• E05B85/103

  creating a completely closed wing surface · CPC title

• E05B85/16

  a longitudinal grip part being pivoted at one end about an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the grip part · CPC title

• E05B85/107 Primary

  Pop-out handles, e.g. sliding outwardly before rotation · CPC title

• E05B77/42

  Means for damping the movement of lock parts, e.g. slowing down the return movement of a handle (E05B77/38 takes precedence) · CPC title