EP1375792B1

EP1375792B1 - Latch device of a vehicle

Info

Publication number: EP1375792B1
Application number: EP20020013659
Authority: EP
Inventors: Christer Gustav Dominique
Original assignee: Ford Global Technologies LLC
Current assignee: Ford Global Technologies LLC
Priority date: 2002-06-20
Filing date: 2002-06-20
Publication date: 2008-02-27
Anticipated expiration: 2022-06-20
Also published as: DE60225256T2; DE60225256D1; EP1375792A1

Description

Technical field

The present invention relates to a latch device of a lid to a compartment of a vehicle, preferably a mechanism for preventing unintentional trunk entrapment, comprising a claw being in engagement with a striker when said lid is closed, or being held in a ready-to-engage state when the lid is open, in which state said claw is ready to be positively brought into a locked position upon closing said lid.

State of the art

Unfortunately there are still situations where for instance children get entrapped inside vehicle trunks. This may happen under the most innocent circumstances, for instance when children are playing hide and seek at a local scrap yard, since as we all know, to children the forbidden always is the most interesting and inviting, but also under more serious or dangerous circumstances where someone is put in a vehicle trunk against his or her own will and thus is entrapped. Vehicle trunks are of tradition quite enclosed sites. The available volume thereof is normally very limited, thus the possibilities to move therein are small. Therefore also the available amount of air is delimited. Consequently an entrapment of said kind represents a serious, deadly risk if disregarded.
Today a direct pawl release is used having a fluorescent handle. The release effort thereof is with existing solutions definitely is too high for a child entrapped like this. On top of this, many times also the weight of the trunk lid is such that even if a person who is entrapped manages to release the direct pawl, he or she may not realise that the trunk lid has been released since it stays in the same position in spite of the release due to its weight and maybe also due to failing lifting means. The weight of the trunk lid may also be larger than the weight thereof itself, due to for instance snow piling upon the outside of the lid.
In US 5,445,326 there is disclosed a latch device according to the preamble of claim 1 of the present invention.

Description of the invention

It is therefore an object with the present invention to minimize the release effort necessary to release a trunk lid of a vehicle from the inside thereof, should someone become entrapped inside such a trunk. The aim is to reduce said effort to a level on or around one fifth the level of existing solutions. This level represents an effort that more or less equals forces such as sealing forces and tolerances of the vehicle structure itself and cannot with foreseeable means be further minimized.
According to the invention said trunk lid latch device comprise an opening/unlocking sub device, having elastic biasing means as well as a releasable pawl for the capture and storage of potential energy, the sub device being connected to an arrangement in the compartment of said vehicle for the release of said pawl, to thereby upon release of said claw, simultaneously and momentarily also release the energy stored in the opening/unlocking device against either said lid or part of the structure of the vehicle, to positively be able to force said lid to a visibly open position.
Said opening/unlocking sub device comprise a pop-up bar, part of which is encircled by a coil spring acting between a part of a trunk lid or a part of the structure of the vehicle and an abutment on said bar, said abutment acting both as such to said spring and as an abutment to said release pawl. This means that the spring automatically or by hand will become loaded again by making use of the pop-up bar when or before the trunk lid is closed after having been activated making use of the inventive device.
Also by being completely mechanical, the sub device will provide an elimination of the risk for entrapment also in a car on a scrap yard, since no electricity is required for it to work.

Brief description of the drawings

Below the present invention will be described with reference to two schematic embodiments, shown on the enclosed drawings, in which

Fig 1 show a schematic view of a first embodiment of a trunk lid latch device according to the invention, and
Fig 2 shows another schematic view of a second embodiment thereof.

Description of embodiments

As is shown in fig 1, a trunk lid latch device 1 comprise a mount 2, on which a pivotable claw 3 is mounted. Said claw 3, encircles a striker 4 in a locked condition for said trunk lid (not shown). The latch mechanism 1 in a position as is shown here, may very well be mounted on a lower rear part of a vehicle structure, i.e. a part of the vehicular body. As is also conventional in for instance cars, said deice 1 is also, if turned upside down, easy to imagine mounted in a lower rear part of said trunk lid. The claw 3 is by use of a spring (not shown) on its pivot shaft biased to unloaded take a position corresponding an opened trunk lid: However, said mount 2 has a primary release pawl 5, which like said claw 3 is biased by a spring (not shown), to here take a position where a pawl portion 6 thereof normally is situated and may slide along a periferal portion 7 of the claw 3, to eventually upon closing the trunk lid engage a notch 8 along said portion 7. Reference numeral 9 denotes a point of pivotation for said claw 3. The mounting 2 also includes a pop-up bar 11, which is arranged to be able to be positively expelled by a forceful spring 12 at wish.
The primary release pawl 5, comprise two different actuation means, a first lever 13 and a second lever 14. Said first lever 13 is to be actuated by an electromagnetic release piston 15. The other, second lever 14 is to be actuated by the pop-up bar 11 upon actuation thereof. By its design it may be said to be neutral with regard to possible g-forces in the event of a side-impact accident. Thereby the trunk will not by accident pop-up in such a case, since the pawl is pivotally inertialless around its shaft of pivotation.
The pop-up bar 11 has for its release a secondary release pawl 16, biased toward a position keeping the pop-up bar in a ready to release state, by a spring (not shown) on its shaft. The secondary pawl 16 is for its release connected to a relatively stiff cable 17, having a sling or a loop 18 at its end for gripping purposes. Said sling 18 is made fluorescent and is supposed to be led from said latch mechanism 1 through the upholstery of the trunk or trunk lid, depending on its application, to be easy to find and grasp in the event of an entrapment occurring.
According to Fig 2, a somewhat different embodiment of the sub device 11, 11a, 12, 12a according to the invention is shown. In this case no mounting is shown, however such a mounting is for obvious reasons a necessity here as well according to the above embodiment. A trunk lid latch mechanism, generically between the embodiments denoted 1, has a striker 4a, a claw 3a and a primary release pawl 5a. As is obvious, said primary pawl 5a is independently movable in relation to a secondary release pawl 16a, which against an abutment 20 keeps a pop-up bar 11, 11a, which in turn is biased by a spring 12, 12a, in a resting ready-to-release state. Both said release pawls 5a, 16a are like according to the first embodiment biased by springs (not shown), arranged on the respective shafts around which each pawl is able to pivot upon actuation thereof. The pop-up bars of each said latch mechanisms may comprise an impact spring (not shown) at the outer end of each bar, that minimizes the beating force of the pop-up bar 11 and 11 a respectively, when it hits against its counterparts in either the trunk lid or trunk structure, depending upon its mount. In both cases said beating force will generate a loud noise to verify that the lid has been released from its locked and closed position.
Each said trunk lid latch device 1 or 1a works in more or less the same fashion. Starting with the device 1 of Fig 1, the normal service thereof includes the cooperation between the striker 4 and its claw 5, as a counterpart.
A normal opening of the trunk lid is affected through actuation of the release piston, which may be either mechanically or electrically triggered or both. The piston 15 acts on the lever 13, to force the primary release pawl 5 out of its notch 8, upon which the claw 3 firstly moves counter clockwise to release from the pawl and secondly turns to move clockwise.
As is visible in fig 1, apart from all parts of the latch device 1 described above, said mount 2 also comprise two sturdy jaws 19. As is conventional in latch mechanisms of this kind, these jaws will, if necessary, steer the trunk lid into position for locking when thrusted towards the structure of the trunk lid opening, should the "angle of attack" of the trunk lid be defective in any way.
In the event a person is entrapped inside a vehicle trunk, the cable 17 is due to its fluorescent appearance clearly visibly arranged in the vicinity of the latch mechanism 1. If pulled, the cable 17 in turn pulls the secondary release pawl 16, which frees pop-up bar to an extension necessary to engage with the second lever 14 of the primary pawl 5. Once affected, it pivots the claw 3 some degrees counter-clockwise to an extent necessary to release the same and consequently unlock the trunk lid. The pop-up bar 11 is thereafter expelled whereby it forcefully while initially generating said loud noise lifts the trunk lid from the structure of the trunk lid opening, irrespective of a possible snow load (or the like) on top of the lid or not. The trunk lid is thereby opened to an extent that it becomes visible that it is opened and the entrapped person may exit.
In accordance with Fig 2 the function of the device shown there is in accordance with the following. In a locked condition the claw 3a encircles its striker 4a. To release said claw 3a from its engagement with the striker 4a the primary pawl 5a must be pivoted counter clockwise around its point of pivot. When released, the claw 3a no longer keep the primary pawl 5a in a locked position, thus the same releases from the striker 4a.
Should a person get entrapped, like described above, the secondary pawl 16a is instead freed from its engagement with the pop-up bar 11 a. Following the release thereof, the same starts to accelerate and in that process it affects the primary pawl 5a in the same fashion as it is positively affected during a normal opening of the trunk lid. Thus the claw 3a almost instantaneously changes position to free the trunk lid, while at the same time the pop-up bar 11a continues to accelerate to push up the trunk lid to an open position, independent of whether it is loaded with for instance snow or else matter.
It should in the context be noted that the active end (maybe "free end" in an expelled condition) of the pop-up bar 11, 11a must not be arranged in contact with its counterpart, the trunk lid (not shown) or the structure of the trunk lid opening, but close thereto to while still generating a loud noise confirming that the lid has been opened as pointed out above, to thereby minimize the size in the impact against said counterpart.
The device as described provides three feedbacks; sound; movement and a visual opening of the trunk lid. It should finally clearly be noted that two criteria must be fulfilled to activate the device according to the invention:

1. The trunk lid must be closed
2. A handle inside the trunk must be pulled.

Claims

Latch device (1) of a lid to a compartment of a vehicle, comprising a claw (3, 3a) being in engagement with a striker (4, 4a) and with a primary release pawl (5, 5a) when said lid is closed, or being held in a ready-to-engage state when the lid is open, characterized by comprising an opening device (11, 11a;12, 12a) having elastic biasing means (12, 12a) as well as a secondary release pawl (16, 16a) arranged to keep a pop-up bar (11, 11a) biased by the biasing means in a ready-to-release state for the capture and storage of potential energy, the device (11, 11a; 12, 12a) being connected to an arrangement (17) to be mounted in the compartment of said vehicle for the release of said secondary release pawl (16, 16a) from its engagement with the pop-up bar (11, 11a), and for the pop-up bar (11, 11 a) to affect the primary release pawl (5, 5a) to release the claw (3, 3a), to thereby upon release of said claw (3, 3a), simultaneously and momentarily also release the energy stored in the opening device (11, 11a; 12, 12a) against either said lid or part of the structure of the vehicle, to force said lid to a visibly open position.
Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the elastic biasing means (12, 12a) of said opening/unlocking sub device (11, 11a; 12, 12a) comprise the pop-up bar (11, 11a), part of which is encircled by a coil spring (12) acting between a part of a trunk lid or a part of the structure of the vehicle and an abutment (20) on said bar, said abutment (20) being able to act both as such to said spring (12) and as an abutment to said secondary release pawl (16, 16a).
Device according to claim 2, characterized in that said sub device (11, 11a; 12, 12a) in its armed position is actuated by making use of a cable (17), physically connected to said secondary release pawl (16, 16a).
Device according to claim 3, characterized in that said cable (17) has a sling or a loop for gripping purposes and is made luminescent to be visible in complete darkness.
Device according to anyone of the proceeding claims, characterized in that it comprise a normally used actuating system including either a bowden cable (17) or an electrically powered actuator, or both, connected to the primary release pawl (5) where the electrically powered actuator may be remotely controllable.