JP6338921B2 - Door latch device for vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a door latch device for holding a back door of a vehicle in a closed position.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a door latch device (tailgate latch device) of a back door provided in an automobile such as a station wagon.
This figure shows a state in which the door latch device engages the striker 10 of the vehicle body and holds the back door in the closed position.

The door latch device includes a known latch mechanism 13 including a fork 11 and a claw 12.
The fork 11 is rotatably supported by a shaft 14 on a base plate (not shown), and the fork 11 receives a clockwise rotational force by a return spring.

The claw 12 is rotatably supported on the base plate by the shaft 15, and the claw 12 receives a counterclockwise rotational force by the return spring, and in a state where the fork 11 is engaged with the striker 10, The fork 11 is locked so as to prevent the backward movement of the fork 11, thereby holding the closed position of the back door.

On the other hand, this door latch device is an electric release type door latch device provided with an electric actuator that performs latch release of unlatching to be an open position from a latching state in which the closed position of the back door is held.
That is, the motor 16 as an electric actuator, the worm 17 provided on the output shaft of the motor 16, the worm wheel 18 meshed with the worm 17, and the small gear (projected integrally with the central portion of the worm wheel 18) An electric drive mechanism comprising an interlocking gear) 19 is provided, and the open lever 20 is turned by this electric drive mechanism to release the latch.
The worm wheel 18 is provided with a return spring.

Specifically, the electric drive mechanism is built in the motor case 21, and the open lever 20 is pivotally supported on the shaft 22 in the motor case 21.
The open lever 20 has an arcuate gear portion 20a formed on one side of a shaft 22, the gear portion 20a meshes with the small gear 19, and the other side serves as an interlocking portion 20b in a motor case. 21 is an interlocking part that interlocks the claw 12 with this interlocking part 20b.

  Therefore, if the motor 16 is supplied with power in the latched state shown in FIG. 7 in which the back door is held at the closed position, the rotational driving force of the motor 16 is transmitted to the open lever 20 via the worm 17, worm wheel 18 and small gear 19. Since the open lever 20 pivots counterclockwise, the claw 12 is pushed around by the interlocking portion 20b and rotates clockwise against the spring force of the return spring.

As a result, the locking of the fork 11 is released, and the fork 11 is rotated clockwise by the spring force of the return spring, so that the engagement of the striker 10 is released as shown in FIG. (Unlatching state)
From this, the back door can be opened.

When the door latch device is unlatched, power supply to the motor 16 is stopped.
As a result, the worm wheel 18 is reversed by the spring force of the return spring, so that the open lever 20 and the claw 12 are moved backward.

On the other hand, the door latch device is provided with a manual open lever 23 for emergency operation.
The manual open lever 23 is provided outside the motor case 21 on the vehicle compartment side, and its base is pivotally supported by a shaft 22 protruding outside the motor case 21 and pivots integrally with the open lever 20. So that they are connected.

The manual open lever 23 is operated (emergency operation) from the vehicle interior when the electric drive mechanism such as the motor 16 or its power supply circuit is faulty or the electric drive mechanism does not release the latch due to battery exhaustion. To release the latch.
That is, when the back door is fixed at the closed position and cannot be opened due to a failure of the electric drive mechanism, the manual open lever 23 is operated from the vehicle interior to release the latch.

  That is, in FIG. 7, if the manual open lever 23 is operated counterclockwise, the open lever 20 pivots integrally, so that the latch is released in the same manner as described above, so that the back door can be opened.

JP 2013-185335 A

  In the conventional door latch device described above, since the manual open lever 23 is provided outside the motor case 21 on the indoor side, the manual open lever 23 is pivoted by a thin line passing through the door gap from the outside of the back door to release the latch. As a result, there is a risk that the back door will be opened due to fraud and the items in the vehicle will be stolen.

In order to prevent theft as described above, a cover case that covers the manual open lever 23 is provided in the motor case 21, and an operation window hole that exposes the operation portion 23a of the manual open lever 23 is provided in the cover case. There is something provided.
However, when such a cover case is provided, the operation window hole is made small to prevent theft, and the operability of the manual open lever 23 is deteriorated.

Further, when a cover case that covers the manual open lever 23 is provided, the width in the thickness direction of the door latch device, that is, the width in the axial direction of the shaft 22 is increased, and the manual open lever 23 and the cover case are provided. Therefore, the number of parts increases, which causes a problem that the production cost increases with weight.

Furthermore, it is conceivable that the manual opening lever 23 is provided in the motor case 21 and an operation window hole for exposing the operation portion 23a is formed in the motor case 21.
When configured in this way, the operation window hole must be made small to prevent theft, and the operability is deteriorated, and foreign matter enters from the operation window hole. Gears, etc. may malfunction.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention is an electric release type door latch device capable of emergency operation, in order to prevent the entry of foreign objects from the operation window hole exposing the manual operation portion of the open lever and to prevent theft. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle door latch device that can be formed into a small window hole and that is easy to operate as much as possible the manual operation portion of the open lever exposed in the operation window hole. To do.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention provides, as a first invention, a fork that can be engaged with and disengaged from a striker provided on a vehicle body or a door, and an engagement position of the striker and a release for releasing the engagement. A latch mechanism having a claw that restricts movement to a position, and is pivotally attached to an apparatus case and driven by an electric actuator, and the claw is operated by the turning movement to restrict the fork to an open position. In the vehicle door latch device having an open lever, the open lever is provided with a manual operation unit operable from the inside of the vehicle, and the electric drive mechanism including the electric actuator and the device case including the open lever are provided in the device case. Is a window hole for operation which is formed in a long shape so as to follow the turning movement of the manual operation portion of the open lever and exposes the manual operation portion. Provided with, in the vicinity of the operation window hole proposes door latch apparatus for a vehicle, characterized in that a guide portion for guiding the operation of the manual operating section of the operator.

As a second invention, in the door latch device according to the first invention described above, the guide portion includes a concave portion formed around the entire circumference or a part of the operation window hole. The door latch device is proposed.

As a third invention, in the door latch device according to the second invention described above, the manual operation portion of the open lever is provided with a protrusion that protrudes into the guide portion through the operation window hole. A door latch device for a vehicle is proposed.

In the door latch device of the first invention, since the open lever is provided in the device case, the open lever is not swung by an unauthorized action from the outside of the vehicle and is not released.
Therefore, it becomes an electric release type door latch device capable of emergency operation with excellent antitheft performance.

In addition, since a guide portion for guiding the operation of the operator is provided in the vicinity of the operation window hole exposing the manual operation portion of the open lever, the operator can directly operate with a finger or the like without using a tool. it can.
Of course, it can also be operated using a tool such as a screwdriver.

  The door latch device of the second invention is characterized in that the guide portion of the first invention is formed as a concave portion, and is configured to be operated by guiding an operator's finger or the like with the concave portion.

According to the door latch device of the third aspect of the invention, it is possible to operate the hook by placing a finger or the like on the protrusion provided on the manual operation portion of the open lever, and the emergency operation of the open lever is further facilitated.
In addition, if the projection is provided in the manual operation portion in this manner, the operation window hole can be formed in a small width, which is advantageous for preventing foreign matter from entering the device and preventing the latch from being illegally released.
That is, the operation window hole can be formed as a small hole width that can be operated by inserting a tool such as a screwdriver, without having a hole width that can be operated by inserting a finger.

As described above, in the electric release type door latch device according to the present invention, when the electric drive mechanism such as the motor or its power supply circuit fails or the electric drive mechanism does not perform the latch release operation due to battery exhaustion, the open lever is set. It becomes a door latch device that can be unlatched by an emergency operation, and is a door latch device that is excellent in theft prevention and excellent in operability.

It is the front view which showed the door latch apparatus for motor vehicles which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is the sectional view on the AA line on FIG. It is the simplified front view of the said door latch apparatus which removed the case cover body of the motor case, and showed the internal structure, This figure is the figure which showed the latching state. It is the simplified front view of the door latch apparatus similar to FIG. 3 which showed the releasing operation | movement of a latch. It is a front view of the said door latch apparatus provided with the cover which closes the window hole for operation which exposes the manual operation part of an open lever. It is a front view of the door latch apparatus similar to FIG. 5 which shows the state which turned the cover to the position which opens the window hole for operation. It is the simplified front view of the conventional door latch apparatus which removed the case cover body of the motor case, and showed the internal structure, This figure is the figure which showed the latching state. FIG. 8 is a simplified front view of a door latch device similar to FIG. 7 illustrating a latch release operation.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention implemented on a back door of an automobile such as a station wagon will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 is a front view of the door latch device, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a simplified front view of the door latch device showing the internal structure by removing the case lid of the motor case. .
Since the latch mechanism, the electric drive mechanism, and the like have the same configuration as that of the conventional latch device shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the same members will be described with the same reference numerals.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 to 3, the fork 11 and the claw 12 constituting the latch mechanism 13 are pivotally supported by shafts 14 and 15 in the base plate 31, and the base plate 31 is covered by a cover body 32. .
Then, mounting brackets 33 are provided on both sides of the base plate 31, and the mounting bracket 33 is screwed to the back door, and the door latch device is assembled to the back door.
The base plate 31 is formed with a striker insertion groove 34 which is inserted by closing the back door.

Furthermore, an electric drive mechanism 35 is integrally attached to the latch mechanism 13 described above.
The electric drive mechanism 35 is the same as the conventional example, and includes a motor (electric actuator) 16, a worm 17, a worm wheel 18, and a small gear incorporated in an empty space formed by a case body 36 and a case lid 37 of the motor case. (Interlocking gear) 19.

The worm 17 is fixed to the output shaft of the motor 16, and a small gear 19 is provided at the center of the worm wheel 18 meshed with the worm 17.
The gear body including the worm wheel 18 and the small gear 19 is rotatably supported by a shaft rod 38 bridged between shaft support portions 36a and 37a provided on the case main body 36 and the case lid body 37. The wheel 18 is provided with a return spring 39 that rotates backward to the initial position.
The small gear 19 may be formed integrally with the central portion of the worm wheel 18, or the small gear 19 formed separately may be fixed to the worm wheel 18.

On the other hand, an open lever 40 that is electrically driven by the electric drive mechanism 35 to release the latch is provided.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the open lever 40 is provided with a shaft portion 41 including a convex shaft portion 41a and a concave shaft portion 41b on one side, and the convex shaft portion 41a is connected to the case body. 36 is fitted to the concave shaft portion 36b, and the convex shaft portion 37b of the case lid 37 is inserted into the concave shaft portion 41b so as to be pivotally supported.

As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, the open lever 40 has a wide portion formed on one side of the shaft portion 41, and an arc-shaped concave groove portion 42 centered on the shaft portion 41 is formed in the wide portion. Further, a window hole 42a is provided on the front side of the concave groove 42, and a gear 42b is formed along the lower surface thereof.
Further, the small gear 19 is inserted into the concave groove portion 42, and the small gear 19 is engaged with the gear 42b.

In the open lever 40, a protruding tongue piece on one side of the shaft portion 41 is a manual operation portion 40a, and the manual operation portion 40a is provided with a hole 40b and a protrusion 40c.
Further, the other side of the open lever 40 forms an interlocking portion 40 d that pushes the claw 12.
As can be seen from FIG. 3, the interlocking portion 40 d of the above-mentioned open lever 40 protrudes from the motor case, and the tip portion thereof faces the pushing portion 12 a of the claw 12.

On the other hand, an operation window hole 43 is formed in the case lid 37 of the door latch device described above, so that the emergency operation can be performed by exposing the manual operation portion 40a of the open lever 40 from the operation window hole 43. It has become.
The operation window hole 43 is formed as an arc-shaped long hole centered on the shaft portion 41, and the manual operation portion 40 a can be turned along the operation window hole 43.

Specifically, in this embodiment, a horizontally long concave portion 37 c is formed in the upper direction of the case lid 37, an operation window hole 43 is provided in the lower portion of the concave portion 37 c, and the manual operation of the open lever 40 is performed. The protrusion 40 c provided on the operation portion 40 a is protruded into the recess 37 c through the operation window hole 43. (See Figure 2)
That is, the above-described horizontally long concave portion 37 c serves as a guide portion that guides the finger of an operator who operates the manual operation portion 40 a of the open lever 40.

The door latch device according to the present embodiment described above is electrically operated if the motor 16 is operated to feed power in a state where the back door is in the closed position and the door latch device is in the engaged state of the striker 10 shown in FIG. 3 (latching state). The latch can be released according to the operation of the drive mechanism 35.
That is, since the worm 17 and the worm wheel 18 are interlocked by driving the motor 16, the small gear 19 rotates integrally with the worm wheel 18.

Accordingly, the open lever 40 in which the gear 42b is meshed with the small gear 19 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. 3 in conjunction with the rotation of the small gear 19, so that the pushing portion 12a of the claw 12 is pushed by the interlocking portion 40d. Turned.
As a result, the blockage of the fork 11 by the claw 12 is released, so that the fork 12 is rotated counterclockwise by the return spring as shown in FIG. 4 and the engagement of the striker 10 is released.
By the above operation, the latch is released by the electric drive mechanism 35 and the back door can be opened.

  Since the motor 16 of the electric drive mechanism 35 is controlled to stop power supply when the latch is released, the open lever 40 is interlocked with the worm wheel 18 and the small gear 19 which return by receiving the spring force of the return spring 39 in FIG. 3 is rotated counterclockwise and returned to the initial position shown in FIG. 3, and the claw 12 is rotated clockwise in FIG. The latch release operation is held by this operation.

On the other hand, when the electric drive mechanism 35 does not operate regardless of the power supply operation due to a failure of the motor 16 or its power supply circuit or battery consumption, the back door cannot be opened because the latch cannot be released.
In the case of such an abnormal state, the door latch device of this embodiment can manually operate the open lever 40 from the passenger compartment to release the latch (emergency operation) from the door latch device.

  When the door latch device configured as described above is in the latching state shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, if the finger is caught in the protrusion 40 c of the open lever 40 and pulled clockwise, the swinging movement of the open lever 40 Since the interlocking portion 40d pushes the pushing portion 12a of the claw 12 as shown in FIG. 4, the latch can be released.

  Therefore, when the electric drive mechanism 35 such as the motor 16 or its power supply circuit is out of order, or when the electric drive mechanism 35 is in an abnormal state where the latch release operation is not performed due to battery exhaustion or the like, the back door is approached from inside the vehicle, The emergency door can be unlatched and the back door can be opened.

That is, when an abnormal state occurs as described above, the projection 40c of the manual operation unit 40a provided on the open lever 40 of the door latch device is approached from the vehicle interior to the back door, and the finger is a recess that is a guide unit. The open lever 40 is rotated as shown in FIG.
Thereby, since the latch can be released in the same manner as described above, the back door can be opened.

Therefore, when releasing the latch by the emergency operation, it is only necessary to move the human finger hooked on the protrusion 40c along the recess 37c, so that the hole width of the operation window hole 43 can be reduced.
That is, the operation window hole 43 does not need to have a hole width enough to insert a human finger and operate the manual operation portion 40a of the open lever 40, and has a narrow hole width that can be operated by inserting a tool such as a screwdriver. The manual operation unit 40a is provided with a projection 40c corresponding to the hole width.
As a result, there is little intrusion of foreign matter from the operation window hole 43, and the operation window hole 43 is formed in the lower part of the concave portion 37c, which is advantageous in preventing latch release due to an illegal act from the outside of the vehicle.
Even if a tool such as a screwdriver is inserted into the hole 40b provided in the operation portion 40a of the open lever 40 and operated, the latch can be released in the same manner as described above.

  As described above, the door latch device of the present embodiment can form the operation window hole 43 that exposes the manual operation portion 40a of the open lever 40 with a narrow width, so that foreign matter enters from the operation window hole 43. The operation window hole 43 is formed in the lower part of the concave portion 37c, so that it can be exposed to the operation window hole 43 even by using a thin line inserted through the gap of the back door. Since it becomes difficult to operate the manual operation part 40a of the open lever 40, it is rarely released by latching.

However, it is preferable to provide a cover for closing the operation window hole 43 in order to increase the certainty of preventing the intrusion of foreign matter and preventing the release of latch due to fraud.
FIG. 5 shows an embodiment provided with a cover 44 for closing the operation window hole 43, and FIG. 6 shows an embodiment in which the operation window hole 43 is opened by turning the cover 44.

The cover 44 has a shaft hole 44 a provided at one end thereof rotatably supported by a support shaft portion 45 a provided at the case lid 37, and a locking tongue piece 44 b at the other end is provided by the case lid 37. The operation window 43 is kept closed by being engaged with an engagement holding portion 45b provided on the operation window 43.
The protruding portion 45 c is a stopper that holds the closed position of the cover 44, and the protruding portion 45 d is a stopper that holds the open position of the cover 44.

When the cover 44 is opened, the locking tongue piece 44b is pulled out of the locking holding portion 45b so as to get over the protruding portion 45c, and the support shaft portion 45a is turned around the fulcrum. As shown in FIG. It is swung and released until a part contacts the protrusion 45d.
As described above, when the cover 44 is opened, the manual operation portion 40a of the open lever 40 is exposed to the operation window hole 43. Therefore, if the hole portion 40b and the projection portion 40c are turned, the emergency operation is performed as described above. The latch can be released.

  The present invention can be applied to a door latch device installed in a back door of an automobile having no boundary between a vehicle interior such as a station wagon and a trunk portion.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Striker 13 Latch mechanism 16 Motor 17 Worm 18 Worm wheel 19 Small gear 35 Electric drive mechanism 36 Case main body 37 Case cover body 37c Recess 40 Open lever 40a Manual operation part 40b Hole part 40c Protrusion part 40d Interlock part 41 Shaft part 42 Concave shape Groove 42a Window hole 42b Gear 43 Operation window hole

Claims (3)

In a vehicle door latch device having a latch mechanism and an open lever,
The latch mechanism
A fork that can be attached to and detached from a striker provided on a vehicle body or a door;
With regulating from the engagement position of the striker of the fork moves, e Bei a claw for regulating the from the release position to release the engagement of the fork is moved, the,
The open lever is pivotally attached to the device case and driven by an electric actuator, and the claw is operated by the swivel movement, and the restriction of the claw is released so that the fork can move from the engagement position ,
The open lever is provided with a manual operation unit operable from the inside of the vehicle,
The device case having the electric drive mechanism including the electric actuator and the open lever is formed in an elongated shape so as to follow the turning movement of the manual operation portion of the open lever, and the manual operation portion is exposed. A vehicle door latch device characterized in that a window portion is provided and a guide portion is provided in the vicinity of the operation window hole to guide an operator's operation of the manual operation portion. The door latch device according to claim 1,
The vehicle door latch device according to claim 1, wherein the guide portion comprises a concave portion formed around the entire circumference or a part of the operation window hole. The door latch device according to claim 2,
A door latch device for a vehicle, wherein the manual operation portion of the open lever is provided with a projection that protrudes into the guide portion through the operation window hole.

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