JP6739220B2 - Vehicle door latch device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle door latch device, and more particularly, to mounting a Bowden cable that transmits a door opening operation of an outer door opening handle to an outer lever.

Conventionally, a latch that holds a vehicle door in a half-latch state or a full-latch state by engaging with a striker, a ratchet that engages with the latch and holds engagement between the striker and the latch, and an outer door opening handle A latch portion having an outer lever capable of releasing the ratchet from the latch when displaced in the door opening direction by the door opening operation; and a Bowden cable transmitting the door opening operation of the outer door opening handle to the outer lever. A vehicle door latch device in which a cable locking portion for holding the Bowden cable is provided in the latch portion is known.

Japanese Patent No. 5403159

In the above conventional device, the cable locking portion is formed on the metal back plate of the latch portion, the outer casing of the Bowden cable is locked to the U-shaped ring of the cable locking portion, and then the U-shaped ring is press-fitted. The outer casing was fixed to the cable locking part.
For this reason, the assembly workability is deteriorated, and the press-fitted Bowden cable is difficult to remove, which is disadvantageous in maintenance. Further, since the U-shaped ring is formed on the back plate, the metal member becomes large and the weight becomes heavy. There was also a growing problem.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the latch 13 that holds the vehicle door 51 in the half-latch state or the full-latch state by engaging with the striker 12, and the engagement of the striker 12 and the latch 13 by engaging with the latch 13. A latch portion 14 for holding the ratchet 14 and an outer lever 26 for opening the ratchet 14 from the latch 13 when the outer door handle 24 is displaced in a door opening direction by an opening operation of the outer door handle 24; and the outer door handle. A Bowden cable 25 for transmitting the door opening operation of 24 to the outer lever 26; a cable locking portion 62 for holding the Bowden cable 25 is provided on the outside of the latch portion 10; Is configured so that the Bowden cable 25 can be prevented from being detached by being closed by a connecting door panel 56 parallel to the vehicle width direction of the vehicle door 51 to which the latch portion 10 is fixed , and the outer casing 60 of the Bowden cable 25 can be prevented . The end portion is provided with a cable cap 61 that engages so that the detachment from the cable locking portion 62 to the connecting door panel 56 side is restricted, and the cable cap 61 is rotated together with the outer casing 60, The vehicle door latch device is configured to be engaged with the cable locking portion 62 so as to be restrained from being detached from the connection door panel 56 side .

In the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention, the cable locking portion 62 can be prevented from being detached from the Bowden cable 25 by closing it by the connecting door panel 56 of the vehicle door 51, so that the configuration is rational and the assembling workability is also improved. the better. Further, it becomes easy to provisionally fastened a cable cap 61 relative to the front Symbol cable locking unit 62.
Further, in the invention according to claim 2 of the present invention, since the curved extension portion 74 of the cable cap 61 is curved in a direction away from the connection door panel 56 as it goes upward, the Bowden cable 25 inside the vehicle door 51. It is possible to perform the one-turn arrangement more naturally, and it is expected that the workability of connecting the Bowden cable 25 to the outer door handle 24 will be further improved.
Further, in the invention according to claim 3 of the present invention, the outer lever 26 rotates downward in many cases when an unexpected external force acts on its rotating end. Door opening is prevented.

Sectional drawing which shows the mounting state of the vehicle door latch device of this invention, and a vehicle door. The whole perspective view of the vehicle door latch device of the present invention. The front view which faces the vehicle rear of the latch part of the vehicle door latch device. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an operation unit provided on the back side of a latch body of the vehicle door latch device. The side view in the unlocked state which looked at the operation part from the vehicle outside. The side view which looked at the lock actuator and lock lever of the vehicle door latch device in a locked state from the vehicle outside. The enlarged view of the open link of the said operation part. The expansion perspective view of the said open link and the said lock lever. The partial cross section top view which looked at the said latch body and the connection door panel of the said vehicle door seen from the vehicle upper side. The expansion perspective view of the cable locking part of the said latch body. The 1st perspective view of the cable cap locked by the cable locking part. The 2nd perspective view of the above-mentioned cable cap. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a state before the rotary hook of the cable cap is engaged with the cable locking portion. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a state where the rotary hook is engaged with the cable locking portion. 3 is a schematic view showing a state of routing a Bowden cable inside the vehicle door.

A preferred embodiment of a vehicle door latch device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The door latch device 50 is mounted inside the vehicle door 51. The vehicle door 51 includes a metal outer door panel 52, a metal inner door panel 53, a window glass 54, and a glass guide rail 55. At the rear part of the inner door panel 53, a connecting door panel 56 that is bent to the outside of the room and connected to the outer door panel 52 is formed, and the door latch device 50 is fixed to the connecting door panel 56.

The general structure of the vehicle door latch device 50 is such that the latch portion 10 provided with a latch/ratchet mechanism, the operation portion 11 integrally or separately connected to the latch portion 10, and the latch portion 10 mesh with each other. The striker 12 (FIG. 3) that keeps the vehicle door 51 in the closed state. The operation unit 11 includes an open mechanism, a lock mechanism, and the like. When the latch portion 10 and the operation portion 11 are integrated, they often have a substantially L shape when viewed from above.

As shown in FIG. 3, the latch portion 10 includes a latch 13 that engages with the striker 12 when the vehicle door 51 is closed, and a ratchet 14 that holds the engagement between the latch 13 and the striker 12. Is housed in a storage space 17 formed on the front side (rear side with respect to the vehicle) of a resin latch body 16 that is locked by a latch shaft 15 in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the ratchet 14 is a ratchet. It is fixed to the shaft 18 and stored in the storage space 17. A metal cover plate 57 is attached to the front surface of the latch body 16 so as to close the storage space 17 (see FIGS. 2 and 9).

The latch portion 10, the cover plate 57 Attach to the front is attached to the vehicle door 51 to face contact to the connecting door panel 56. Therefore, the front surface of the latch portion 10 faces rearward with respect to the vehicle body.

The latch 13 is biased clockwise in FIG. 3 by the elastic force of a latch spring (not shown), and the ratchet 14 is biased counterclockwise by the elastic force of a ratchet spring (not shown). When the striker 12 enters the striker passage 19 of the latch body 16 by the closing movement of the vehicle door 51 and contacts the U-shaped groove 20 of the latch 13 in the unlatched position shown in FIG. 3 , the latch 13 rotates counterclockwise. When the latch 13 is rotated to the half-latch position, the pawl of the ratchet 14 is engaged with the first step 21 of the latch 13 to be in the half-latch state, and when the latch 13 is rotated to the full-latch position, the ratchet 14 is rotated. The pawl engages the second step 22 of the latch 13 and the vehicle door 51 is held in the fully latched state.

On the back side of the latch body 16 (front side with respect to the vehicle), an open lever 23 is axially locked as shown in FIG. An outer lever 26 connected to the outer door handle 24 via a Bowden cable 25 is arranged near the left side of the open lever 23, and the outer door handle 24 is opened via the outer lever 26. It is transmitted to the open lever 23. The right end of the open lever 23 is connected to the lower portion of the open link 27 (FIG. 7), and when the outer door opening handle 24 is operated to open the door, the open link 27 moves upward from the initial position (standby position).

FIG. 5 shows the internal structure of the operation unit 11 from the outside of the vehicle, and various levers are supported by a shaft in the vehicle width direction. A lock lever 28 is arranged on the side of the open link 27. A sliding protrusion 29 is formed on the upper portion of the open link 27 so as to bulge in the vehicle exterior direction, and the sliding protrusion 29 is in contact with a vertical contact wall 30 formed on the rear surface side (inner surface side) of the lock lever 28. Contact (see FIG. 8). The open link 27 is urged in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 5 by the elastic force of the antipanic spring 31, and the urging force keeps the sliding projection 29 in contact with the contact wall 30.

The lock lever 28 is axially stopped by the lock lever shaft 32, switches between the unlock position shown in FIG. 5 and the lock position shown in FIG. 6, and when the lock lever 28 rotates in the lock (clockwise rotation), the lock lever 28 and the contact wall 30 move. The rotation of the lock lever 28 is directly transmitted to the open link 27 due to the contact with the sliding protrusion 29, and the two are displaced in conjunction with each other, but when the lock lever 28 is unlocked (counterclockwise rotation). The rotational force is transmitted to the open link 27 via the elasticity of the anti-panic spring 31.

In the unlocked state of FIG. 5, the open door engaging portion 33 formed in the middle of the open link 27 faces the ratchet pin 34 of the ratchet 14 in the vertical direction, and the open link 23 is rotated to open the open link. When 27 moves upward, the door opening engaging portion 33 contacts the ratchet pin 34 from below and pushes up the ratchet pin 34, so that the ratchet 14 is disengaged from the latch 13 and the door can be opened. However, when the lock lever 28 locks (clockwise rotates) to the lock position, the open door engaging portion 33 of the open link 27 moves laterally with respect to the ratchet pin 34 of the ratchet 14, so that the open link 27 of the open link 27 moves. The operation to open the door by the upward movement is disabled.

The anti-panic spring 31 transmits the unlocking rotation of the lock lever 28 to the open link 27 via spring elasticity. Therefore, even when the open link 27 is in a so-called panic state and the displacement in the unlock direction is physically hindered, the lock lever 28 is displaced to the unlock position while compressing the anti-panic spring 31. Can be completed, thereby avoiding the redo of the unlock operation. For the details of the panic state and the anti-panic mechanism for avoiding the panic state, reference can be made to the descriptions in JP2004-44360A and JP2004-143864A.

As shown in FIG. 5, an inner lever 35 is disposed below the open link 27, and an inner door handle 37 is connected to the inner lever 35 via a connecting tool 36. The inner lever 35 is provided with a pressing piece 38, and when the inner lever 35 rotates by the door opening operation of the inner door opening handle 37, the pressing piece 38 abuts the lower end of the open link 27 and pushes up the open link 27. As a result, in the unlocked state, the ratchet 14 is disengaged from the latch 13 and the door can be opened.

A lock actuator 39 that displaces the lock lever 28 between the locked position and the unlocked position is disposed above the lock lever 28. The lock actuator 39 includes a motor 40, a cylindrical worm 41 fixed to the rotation shaft of the motor 40, and an output wheel 42 that meshes with the cylindrical worm 41.

The output wheel 42 is axially fixed to a gear shaft 43, a gear portion 44 that meshes with the cylindrical worm 41 is formed on the outer circumference of one side, and a convex connecting portion 45 that projects in the radial direction is formed on the other side. The groove-shaped connecting portion 45 engages with the recess-shaped connecting portion 46 formed on the lock lever 28 in a concavo-convex manner so that the power of the motor 40 is transmitted to the lock lever 28 via the concavo-convex connection. Since the concave-convex relationship is the other relationship, it is possible to form the concave connecting portion 46 on the output wheel 42 and the convex connecting portion 45 on the lock lever 28.

A pair of contact stoppers 47, 48 are formed on the other side of the output wheel 42 . When the output wheel 42 rotates a specified amount in the unlock direction (clockwise direction in FIG. 6 ) in the locked state of FIG. 6 and the lock lever 28 also rotates a specified amount, the contact stopper 47 for unlocking moves as shown in FIG. When the output wheel 42 rotates a specified amount in the locking direction (counterclockwise rotation direction in FIG. 5) in the unlocked state of FIG. 5, the lock lever 28 also rotates by a specified amount when the lock lever 28 comes into contact with the outer peripheral wall of the lock lever 28. The contact stopper 48 for locking contacts the outer peripheral wall of the lock lever 28 as shown in FIG. 6, and the lock actuators 39 stop operating. The specified rotation amount (angle) required for the switching operation of the output wheel 42 is about 40 degrees.

A cable end 59 that is locked to the outer lever 26 is fixed to the end of the Bowden cable 25 on the side of the flexible inner cable 58 on the side of the latch portion. Has a cable end (not shown) fixed to a handle lever (not shown).

Both ends of the outer casing 60, which is the outer skin of the inner cable 58, are attached to the immovable members on the latch portion 10 side and the outer door opening handle 24 side, respectively. The present application has a great feature in the connecting means between the outer casing 60 and the latch portion 10. A resin cable cap 61 is attached to the end portion of the outer casing 60 on the latch portion side, and the cable cap 61 is attached to the latch body 16. It is locked to the cable locking portion 62 formed integrally on the outdoor side. When the cable locking portion 62 is integrally formed with the resin latch body 16, the weight can be remarkably reduced as compared with the case where the cable locking portion is formed on the metal plate.

A U-shaped holding portion 63 in a plan view is formed in the cable locking portion 62, and a central column portion 64 having an oval cross section (see FIG. 9) of the cable cap 61 is inserted into the holding portion 63. Be done. The nipping portion 63 has a U-shape that opens toward the rear of the vehicle, and the front opening (interval in the vehicle width direction) of the nipping portion 63 is slightly narrower in accordance with the short diameter of the central column 64. (See FIG. 9). Accordingly, when the cable cap 61 is set in a state where the major axis of the central column 64 is oriented in the vehicle front-rear direction and the cable cap 61 is inserted into the cable locking portion 62 toward the front of the vehicle, the center of the narrow minor diameter width is set. When the pillar portion 64 is smoothly inserted into the holding portion 63, and then the cable cap 61 is rotated by a predetermined angle for each outer casing 60 (preferably 90 degrees), the long diameter portion of the central pillar portion 64 is held in the holding portion. The cable cap 61 is temporarily fixed to the cable locking portion 62 by being engaged with the cable holding member 63 with appropriate knucking and resistance.

Further, the cable locking portion 62 is formed with a semicircular recess 65 (FIG. 10). The engagement flange 66 of the cable cap 61 is inserted into and engaged with the recess 65 from the rear side of the vehicle toward the front side of the vehicle. Due to the engagement between the concave portion 65 and the engagement flange 66, the movement of the cable cap 61 in the vehicle up-down direction with respect to the cable locking portion 62 is suppressed, and the temporary fastening of the cable cap 61 and the cable locking portion 62 is more reliably performed. Done.

Further, the cable locking portion 62 is formed with a pair of engaging convex portions 67 and 68 extending in the vertical direction, and the rotary hook 69 of the cable cap 61 is engaged with the engaging convex portions 67 and 68. The engaging protrusions 67 and 68 are diagonally opposed to each other, that is, one is arranged on the back side and the other is arranged on the front side. The rotating hook 69 is integrally molded with the cable cap 61 without rotating itself, and rotates together with the cable cap 61 (and the outer casing 60). The rotary hook 69 has arcuate surfaces 70 and 71 that gradually increase in diameter at a pair of diagonally opposite corners of the rectangle, and claws 72 that have radial engagement surfaces at the ends of the arcuate surfaces 70 and 71. 73 is formed.

As described above, when the cable cap 61 is set such that the major axis of the central pillar portion 64 faces the vehicle front-rear direction, and the cable cap 61 is inserted into the cable locking portion 62 from the vehicle rear side to the vehicle front side, As shown in FIG. 13, the rotary hook 69 is inserted without contacting the engaging protrusions 67 and 68, and then the cable cap 61 is rotated by a predetermined angle for each outer casing 60 (counterclockwise rotation in FIG. 13). When the arcuate surfaces 70, 71 that gradually increase in diameter come into contact with the engaging protrusions 67, 68 to spread them and rotate the cable cap 61 by a specified amount (90 degrees in the embodiment), the engaging protrusions The claw portions 72 and 73 are engaged with 67 and 68, respectively, and the reverse rotation of the cable cap 61 is prevented and suppressed. Then, even if an external force is applied to the cable cap 61 toward the rear of the vehicle, one of the claw portions 72 and 73 is always engaged with the engagement protrusions 67 and 68 in a retaining manner. Therefore, the temporary fixing of the cable cap 61 and the cable locking portion 62 is achieved more reliably.

Thus, the cable cap 61 is attached to the cable locking portion 62 by a plurality of temporary fastening means. Therefore, even if the product is shipped to an automobile assembly plant with the Bowden cable 25 attached to the door latch device 50 (latch portion 10), the Bowden cable 25 (the cable cap 61) is subjected to various external forces due to long-term transportation. It is possible to sufficiently suppress an accident in which the lever is disengaged from the cable locking portion 62 of the latch body 16 .

Further, the cable locking portion 62 has a U-shape in plan view as a whole and has a shape opening toward the rear of the vehicle, and when the door latch device 50 is fixed to the connecting door panel 56 of the vehicle door 51 with a bolt or the like, As shown in FIG. 9, the opening side of the cable locking portion 62 is substantially closed by the connecting door panel 56. Therefore, after the assembly to the door in the automobile assembly factory is completed, the cable cap 61 is fixed to the cable locking portion. It is held more securely with respect to 62.

The cable cap 61 and the cable locking portion 62 are arranged above the outer lever 26, and when the inner cable 58 of the Bowden cable 25 is pulled by the door opening operation of the outer door opening handle 24, the outer lever 26 of the outer lever 26 is pulled. The rotating end is configured to be pulled upward. The outer lever 26 rotates downward in many cases when an unexpected external force acts on its rotating end, so that unexpected door opening due to such an unexpected external force is prevented.

Therefore, the cable cap 61 is integrally formed on the outer circumference of the end portion of the outer casing 60 by insert molding, and at the time of molding, in addition to the lower portion to be engaged with the cable locking portion 62, a curved extension portion 74 extending upward is provided. Form integrally. The curved extension portion 74 is curved in two directions so that the Bowden cable 25 can be routed smoothly in the narrow internal space of the vehicle door 51.

As is clear from FIG. 15, the first direction is a gentle forward curve of the upper part of the curved extension 74 with respect to the vehicle. When the door latch device 50 is fixed to the connecting door panel 56 of the vehicle door 51 with bolts or the like in a state where the Bowden cable 25 is fixed to the cable locking portion 62 of the latch body 16, the Bowden cable 25 (outer shell) that extends upward from the curved extension portion 74 (outer The casing 60) is gradually led to the curved extension portion 74 that curves forward and gradually becomes “mountainous”, and the tip end side is rotated once inside the vehicle door 51 to make the tip end side of the Bowden cable 25 outside. It is connected to the door opening handle 24. As described above, when the Bowden cable 25 is rotated once in the vehicle door 51 and then connected to the outer door opening handle 24, compared to the case where the Bowden cable 25 is linearly connected to the outer door opening handle 24, On the contrary, in order to improve the workability in the production line, many production lines are designed to rotate the Bowden cable 25 once inside the vehicle door 51. Therefore, when the upper portion of the curved extension portion 74 is gently curved forward as in the present embodiment, the Bowden cable 25 can be more naturally rotated once inside the vehicle door 51, and the workability is further improved. Is expected.

The second bending direction of the bending extension portion 74 is bending to the outdoor side on the upper side thereof, as can be better understood from FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 1, since the movement path of the window glass 54 of the vehicle door 51 is set on the back side of the latch portion 10, guiding the Bowden cable 25 to the outside of the room prevents mutual interference. ..

As described above, the cable cap 61 is formed on the end portion of the outer casing 60 by insert molding. During molding, the outer casing 60 is held in a predetermined curved state by a plurality of pressing pins, resin is injected into the mold, and the cable cap 61 is molded. A thicker rib 75 is formed on the parting line of the cable cap 61. By setting a space for the rib 75 in the cavity of the mold, the resin can be satisfactorily flown into the periphery of the pressing pin, and the moldability is expected to be stable. The rib 75 also functions as a reinforcement that appropriately holds the curved shape of the curved extension portion 74. Reference numeral 76 is a pin hole formed by a pressing pin.

10... Latch part, 11... Operating part, 12... Striker, 13... Latch, 14... Ratchet, 15... Latch shaft, 16... Latch body, 17... Storage space, 18... Ratchet shaft, 19... Strike passage, 20... U Mold groove, 21... First step, 22... Second step, 23... Open lever, 24... Outer door handle, 25... Bowden cable, 26... Outer lever, 27... Open link, 28... Lock lever, 29... Sliding Moving protrusion, 30... Abutment wall, 31... Antipanic spring, 32... Lock lever shaft, 33... Door opening engaging part, 34... Ratchet pin, 35... Inner lever, 36... Coupling tool, 37... Inner door handle , 38... Pressing piece, 39... Lock actuator, 40... Motor, 41... Cylindrical worm, 42... Output wheel, 43... Gear shaft, 44... Gear part, 45... Convex connecting part, 46... Concave connecting part, 47... Contact stopper, 48... Contact stopper, 50... Door latch device, 51... Vehicle door, 52... Outer door panel, 53... Inner door panel, 54... Window glass, 55... Glass guide rail, 56... Connection door panel, 57... Cover plate , 58... Inner cable, 59... Cable end, 60... Outer casing, 61... Cable cap, 62... Cable locking portion, 63... Holding portion, 64... Central pillar portion, 65... Recessed portion, 66... Engaging flange, 67... Engagement convex part, 68... Engagement convex part, 69... Rotating hook, 70... Arc surface, 71... Arc surface, 72... Claw part, 73... Claw part, 74... Curve extension part, 75... Rib, 76 … Pin holes.

Claims (3)

A latch (13) for holding the vehicle door (51) in a half-latch state or a full-latch state by engaging the striker (12), and the striker (12) and the latch (13) engaged with the latch (13). 13) which holds the engagement with the ratchet (14) and an outer lever which can release the ratchet (14) from the latch (13) when the ratchet (14) is displaced in the door opening direction by the door opening operation of the outer door opening handle (24). A latch portion (10) having (26);
A Bowden cable (25) for transmitting a door opening operation of the outer door opening handle (24) to the outer lever (26);
A cable locking portion (62) for holding the Bowden cable (25) is provided outside the latch portion (10);
The cable locking part (62) is closed by a connecting door panel (56) parallel to the vehicle width direction of the vehicle door (51) to which the latch part (10) is fixed, so that the Bowden cable (25) is detached. There is a structure that can be prevented,
A cable cap (61) is engaged with an end portion of the outer casing (60) of the Bowden cable (25) so as to restrict the detachment of the cable locking portion (62) to the connecting door panel (56) side. ),
A vehicle in which the cable cap (61) is rotated together with the outer casing (60) to engage with the cable locking portion (62) so that the cable locking portion (62) is prevented from being separated from the connection door panel (56). Door latch device. In Claim 1 , The said cable cap (61) is provided with the curved extension part (74) located above the said cable locking part (62), The said curved extension part (74) is a said connecting door panel as it goes up. (56) A vehicle door latch device curved in a direction away from (56). The inner cable of the Bowden cable (25) according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the cable locking portion (62) is arranged above the outer lever (26) and a door opening operation of the outer door opening handle (24) is performed. A vehicle door latch device configured such that, when (58) is pulled, the rotating end of the outer lever (26) is pulled upward.

Images