KR20140090212A - Lock device having a multi-part pawl - Google Patents

Abstract

The vehicle locking unit includes a rotatable catch biased toward an open position of the locking unit in an opening direction about a catch rotational axis and a first recess of the catch in the locking unit is configured to receive a striker of the vehicle. Additionally, the catch further includes a second recess disposed in front of the first recess in the opening direction. The pawl is rotatable about a fixed pawl pivot and is biased towards the catch. The pawl includes a blocking arm that extends into the second recess of the catch when the blocking unit is in the secondary latch position. The blocking lever prevents rotation of the pawl from the catch adjacent the blocking arm of the pawl with respect to the catch at the primary latch position. The rocker lever traverses the path of the catch and the path of the blocking lever. When the locking unit is forced to move from the secondary latch position to the primary latch position, the locker is moved by the catch and moves the blocking lever away from the pawl.

Description

[0001] LOCK DEVICE HAVING A MULTI-PART PAWL [0002]

The present invention relates generally to a door latch, and more particularly to a locking unit for a door of a vehicle using a single pawl and blocking lever for restraining catching in a plurality of positions.

Locking units conventionally used for the side doors of vehicles utilize latching mechanisms known as catches, which generally accommodate catch-bolts or strikers disposed on the pillars of the vehicle door frame. The catch is biased to the open position, wherein the slot of the latch housing is aligned with the recess of the catch. As the door closes, the striker enters the recess through the slot and rotates the catch to the closed position. Here, in the closed position, the striker is held in the recess by the pawl, and the pawl prevents the catch from rotating towards the open position. Generally, the pawl is severely biased toward the catch with a two-piece contact made of a further negative biased angle to resist large acceleration forces. The latch housing is generally made of plastic and can be sealed closed all over by a cover outside the area of the slot. Such a locking unit typically includes at least one of a release lever (e.g., an inner door handle or an outer door handle) and a displaceable locking mechanism (e.g., an outer door handle or a locking cylinder in an outer door handle, As shown in Fig. In this case, as the locking mechanism is unlocked, the operation of the inner door handle or the outer door handle is interconnected through the mechanism, and this operation separates the connection of the pawl and the catch by overcoming the pull biasing force. Thereby allowing the spring-loaded catch to move to the open position.

Generally, the locking unit for the door, hatch and tailgate of the vehicle also has a secondary latch position in addition to the primary latch position. If the secondary latch position is between the primary latch position and the open position and the catch does not reach the primary latch position, the door will remain closed at the secondary latch position rather than moving all the way to the open position, It will obviously be dangerous. In addition to preventing the vehicle door from opening during vehicle travel, the secondary latch position can also be perceived when the user does not close the vehicle door with sufficient force. Generally, at the secondary latch position, the door remains clearly open slightly when the vehicle door is closed with too little force and notified that it has not been safely latched. By applying additional force (e.g., by tilting the vehicle door), the latching mechanism is forced into the primary latch position and the door is completely closed.

When released from the primary latch position due to actuation of the release lever, the pawl suddenly disengages from the corresponding locking surface of the catch and the spring-loaded catch moves at a rapid rate to the open position. The sudden movement of the locking surfaces against each other results in a significant opening clack followed immediately by a second large click caused by collision with the limiting stop as the catch reaches the open position. The noise caused by the opening of the vehicle door is considerably loud due to the large force biasing the locking surfaces of the pawls and catches against each other (and biasing the catch towards the rest stops). Additionally, large impacts on the pawls and catches can cause damage to the locking unit and severely limit its useful life, especially since most impacts occur along the locking surface.

German patent application DE 10 2007 003 948 A1 discloses a multi-pole latching mechanism that reduces the latching noise during opening and reduces the force required to operate the latching mechanism. The catch and the locking surface of the first pawl are chamfered and angled to one another to achieve a smooth, gradual sliding when the locking surfaces are released from each other. Since the locking surfaces are designed to reduce the resultant shear force caused by the locking surfaces that push against each other while the catch is released, the force required to actuate the locking mechanism is also correspondingly reduced. Moreover, due to the reduction in the force acting on the latching mechanism, the noise produced during opening is significantly reduced.

However, since the locking surfaces are designed to slide relatively easily with respect to each other, the latching mechanism is not self-latching (i.e., the locking surfaces do not self-hold the catch in place) Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > pawl < / RTI > Additionally, to achieve the secondary latch position, a second pawl is also required. To prevent the pawl blocking lever from engaging in the secondary latch position during closure, the second pawl is disposed on a plane separate from the catch, the first pawl and the blocking lever. If the primary latch position is not engaged by the bolt extending in the plane of the second pawl adjacent to the blocking arm of the second pawl in the open path of the catch from the catch (for example, if the first pawl slides the catch) , The secondary latch position is achieved. However, from a manufacturing standpoint, providing a second pawl on a different plane and entry of the bolt into the catch may be costly. Thus, the multi-pawl design effectively reduces the opening noise and latch actuation force, while requiring a number of other elements in multiple planes of the locking mechanism, thereby complicating the device and increasing manufacturing costs.

In view of the above-described problems, the present invention provides, in one embodiment, a locking unit having a pawl disposed between the catch and the blocking lever.

The catch is rotatable and biased in the opening direction about the catch rotational axis toward the open position of the locking unit, and the first recess of the catch in the locking unit is configured to receive the striker of the vehicle. Additionally, the catch includes a second recess disposed in front of the first recess in the opening direction. The pawl is rotatable and biased toward the catch. The pawl also includes a blocking arm, which extends into the second recess of the catch when the locking unit is in the secondary latch position. In the primary latch of the locking unit, the blocking lever is adjacent the blocking arm of the pawl against the catch. The rocker lever is positioned to intersect the catch and the movement of the blocking lever. When the locking unit is forced to move from the secondary latch position to the primary latch position, the catch transfers the locker, which causes a reciprocating displacement of the blocking lever from the pawl.

In this embodiment, the primary and secondary latch positions are flush with the catch.

In this embodiment, the present invention provides a single blocking arm of a single pawl to achieve primary and secondary latch positions. This helps simplify the design further and helps ensure consistent operation.

In this embodiment, the locking unit uses a soft release of the locking surface to minimize noise and operating forces.

In this embodiment, the secondary foil is removed, which allows the use of conventional two-dimensional catch stamping for primary and secondary loads.

In this embodiment, as the secondary pawls, springs and catch pins of steel are removed, the present invention provides a less expensive, smaller and lighter locking unit.

Also, the design considers manufacturing tolerances, and therefore minimal specification changes will not adversely affect the performance of the locking unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a front view of a locking unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention in a primary latch position;
2 is a front view of a locking unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention having a catch released from the primary latch position;
3 is a front view of a locking unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention in an open position (full movement position of the blocking lever);
4 is a front view of a locking unit in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention in an over-catch position;
5 is a front view of a locking unit in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention in a secondary latch position;
6 is a front view of a locking unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention after displacement of the rocker by the catch beyond the secondary latch position;
7 is a front view of a locking unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention during displacement of a paw by catches without impeding the blocking lever.
8 is a side view of a locking unit in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 3, a locking unit 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention in a primary latch position and an open position, respectively, is shown. The locking unit 10 includes a base plate 12 for mounting the locking unit 10 to the door, hatch or tail gate of the vehicle, and the slot 14 in the base plate 12 is a striker 16) to face each other. In general, the striker 16 (also referred to as a catch bolt) is a pin or U-shaped bracket mounted to the partition at the rear of the vehicle door frame and extending into the plane of the door opening. The locking unit 10 is typically mounted opposite the vehicle door hinges at the leading edge 13 of the base plate 12 facing the striker 16 and the components of the locking unit 10 are disposed within the vehicle door . With this arrangement, as the vehicle door is closed, the striker 16 extends into the slot 14 of the base plate 12 and into the first recess 22 of the catch 20 to engage the catch 20 To the primary latch position (shown in FIG. 1) in the open position (shown in FIG.

When the striker 16 is located on the vehicle door, the locking unit 10 is mounted to the vehicle body, and a housing or cover may be provided in addition to or in addition to the base plate 12, It is noted that the components of the unit 10 are protected.

In one embodiment, catch 20, pawl 40 and blocking lever 60 may be relatively flat parts made of metal or plastic. The base plate 12, and any housing that covers the locking unit 10 can be formed by plastic injection molding. In another embodiment, the locking unit 10 comprises a metal element or a combination of a metal element and a plastic element.

1, the vehicle door is completely closed and the locking unit 10 is in the primary latch position. The catch 20 mounted on the catch rotary shaft 24 through the catch mounting hole 26 holds the striker 16 within the first recess 22. The catch 20 is biased by a spring and rotates about the catch rotational axis 24 in the opening direction S1. However, this catch is held in the primary latch position by the blocking arm 48 of the pawl 40 held in place by the blocking arm 62 of the blocking lever 60. The blocking lever 60 is mounted on the lever rotation shaft 68 adjacent to the pawl 40 via the blocking lever mounting hole 69. The primary catch stop 32, which may be located at the bottom of the first recess 22 or may be located in the periphery of the catch 20 between the first recess 22 and the second recess 30, Contacts the blocking arm (48) of the arm (40). The contact surface 33 of the primary catch stop 32 and the contact surface 50 of the pawl blocking arm 48 are positioned so that they slide smoothly apart (e.g., by including a biased sloped surface of a gradually decreasing slope) The blocking lever arm 62 is provided adjacent to the stop portion 54 of the pawl 40. As shown in Fig.

The blocking lever 60 is prevented from rotating due to the normal force from the pawl stop 54 passing through the lever rotation axis 68 regardless of the relative arrangement of the blocking lever arm 62 and the pawl stop 54 . It is preferable, however, to bias the rotation of the blocking lever 60 about the lever rotation axis 68 in the direction S2 so that one end is connected to the base plate 12 and the other end is connected to the blocking lever 60, Can be used. Therefore, even though the force from the pawl stop 54 causes the blocking lever 60 to be momentarily applied (i.e., the normal force does not go through the blocking lever rotation axis 68), the rotation is biased in the S2 direction And the contact between the blocking lever arm 62 and the pawl stop 54 will be maintained so that the position of the pawl 40 is maintained and the primary catch pawl 32 is held by the pawl blocking arm 32. [ (48).

Restrictions (e. G., Protrusions extending from the base plate 12) can also be used to limit the rotation of the catch 20 and the pawl 40, as well as the blocking lever 60, to a set motion range. In one embodiment of the invention, the blocking lever 60 is rotated in a clockwise direction in its limit when in the primary latch position and biased in its S2 direction by the lever spring.

The locking unit 10 is released from the primary latch position shown in Figure 1 by moving the blocking lever arm 62 from the pawl stop 54 past the blocking lever release edge 64 to open the vehicle door. Preferably, the blocking lever 60 is connected to the actuation link pulling in the direction S5 to enable rotation of the blocking lever arm 62 in a counterclockwise direction from the pawl stop 54, as shown in Fig. do. Outside the locking unit 10, the actuating link is connected to an inner door handle (e.g., designed as a rod assembly or Bowden cable) and / or to an outer door handle, . Alternatively, the rotation of the blocking lever 60 may be controlled by a servomotor and may also be actuated by a switch or sensor.

Referring to Figure 2, the locking unit 10 is shown immediately after release of the catch 20 from the primary latch position. It is noted that the disengagement is made very quickly because only one lever needs to be actuated to release the catch 20. If the blocking lever arm 62 does not touch the pawl stop 54 then the spring force of the catch 20 will rotate the catch and the primary catch stop 32 will glide smoothly along the pawl blocking arm 48 So that the pawl 40 rotates clockwise about the blocking lever 60 about the pawl pivot shaft 42. At this point, the blocking lever arm 62 is received in the recess 52 of the pawl 40 adjacent to the pawl stop 54.

If the primary catch stop 32 does not touch the forehead blocking arm 48 at the position shown in Figure 2, the catch 20 freely rotates in the opening direction S1. Due to the rotational speed of the catch 20 and the transitional curved surfaces of the pawl blocking arm 48 and the secondary catch stop 34 the second recess 30 of the catch 20 and the secondary As the stop 34 slides past the forehead blocking arm 48, the locking unit 10 skips the first latch position shown in Fig. As shown in Figure 3, the catch 20, by means of the base plate 12 through the slot 14, by the maximum extension of the spring or by another rest stop, stops at the full travel position Continue to rotate. The spring force in the opening direction S1 pushes the striker 16 through the slot 14 toward the leading edge 13 of the base plate 12 while the catch 20 is rotating so that the vehicle door And is separated from the vehicle body. In this way, after the release of the catch 20, the locking unit 10 is self-opening because the locking unit does not require an external actuation force.

When the user closes the vehicle door, the striker 16 enters the slot 14 and strikes the striking edge 38 of the first recess 22 of the catch 20. As the door is closed, the force of the door pushes the striker 16 against the striking edge 38 of the first recess 22, whereby the catch 20 against the spring force opposite the opening direction S1 And is rotated in the closing direction S4. During initial rotation, the blocking arm 48 of the pawl 40 slides along the sliding surface 36 of the catch 20. Similar to the release of the catch 20 when the door is opened, the second recess 30 and the primary stop 32 slip past the forehead blocking arm 48, so long as the door is closed with sufficient force, The secondary latch position is bypassed. In this case, the catch 20 can reach the excess shifting position shown in Fig. After the primary stop 32 of the catch 20 has not contacted the blocking arm 48 of the pawl 40 the spring will sufficiently rotate the pawl 40 in the direction S3 from the blocking lever 60 The blocking lever arm 62 exits the recess 52 of the pawl 40 and at this point the spring rotates the blocking lever arm 62 in the direction S2 back to its position below the pawl stop 54 .

In one embodiment, the blocking lever 60 has a rounded tip to facilitate smooth sliding along the pawl recess wall 52, and the blocking lever can also be angled, preferably at a pawl stop 54 Extends toward the catch 20.

 However, if the vehicle door is not closed with sufficient force (i.e., if it is closed too slowly), the locking unit 10 enters the secondary latch position shown in Fig. The secondary latch position is between the primary latch position and the open position and the locking unit 10 is not disengaged to the open position unless the primary latch position is engaged so that the vehicle door is released during travel and the passenger I will let you. The latching mechanism can be released from the primary latch position due to outward forces exerted by the vehicle door compression seals, vehicle vibrations and impacts on the vehicle, and the like; To prevent the door from opening when this happens, the latching mechanism must have a secondary latch position.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a secondary latch position in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The second recess 30 of the catch 20 does not slide past the blocking arm 48 of the pawl 40 when the user closes the vehicle door very slowly; More precisely, after the sliding surface 36 slides past the forehead blocking arm 48, the forehead blocking arm 48 is urged into the second recess 30 of the catch 20, . In response to the continuous closing of the vehicle door, or in response to an additional external force that may be applied by the user or by the servomotor, the catch 20 continues to rotate in the opposite direction of the opening direction S1. As the secondary catch stop 34 rotates away from the forehead blocking arm 48 the spring rotates the forehead blocking arm 48 into the second recess 30 of the catch 20 in the direction S3. This opens the gap between the pawl stop 54 and the blocking lever arm 62. The absence of friction and the negative slope angle further reduce the required effort of the rocker lever 70 to move the blocking lever 60.

Figure 6 shows the locking unit 10 moving from the secondary latch position toward the primary latch position. The catch 20 has a local rocker actuator feature 37 that moves the rocker arm 71 of the rocker lever 70 at the contact surface of the rocker lever 74. [ The actuator portion 37 is preferably manufactured in a conventional plastic overmold of the catch 20. The actuator portion is also produced from a pin of steel, plastic, die-cast or stamped deformation. In this embodiment with the fixed pivot position 73, the rocker lever 70 provides a reciprocal force in the blocking lever actuator 72 to overcome the spring force in the direction S2. The pivot portion 73 of the rocker lever 70 may be a fixed point pivot or a sliding point pivot.

The rocker lever 70 can be mounted comfortably with the catch 20 and the blocking lever 60 makes full use of the available package space. The relationship between the rocker pivot portion and the actuator portion is such that the blocking lever arm 62 is removed from the path of the pawl stop 54 before the pawl blocking arm 48 contacts the exit edge 31 of the catch. The catch exit edge 31 is progressively curved to achieve a smooth sliding against the curved edge of the forehead blocking arm 48. However, many other complementary surfaces, such as flat, curved, chamfered, and angled surfaces, may be used on the exit edge 31 and the forehead blocking arm 48.

7, as the locking unit 10 continues to move from the secondary latch position toward the primary latch position, the catch 20 actuates the rocker arm 70 with the actuator 37, The edge 31 moves the forehead blocking arm 48 in the direction opposite to the direction of S3.

The blocking lever arm 62 is restrained behind the pawl recessed portion 52 by pulling the pawl blocking arm 48 up the catch exit edge 31. [ 2, beyond this point, the rocker actuator portion 37 of the catch 20 moves past the engaged state of the rocker arm 71 of the rocker lever 70. As shown in FIG. Along with the actuating force from the catch 20 released from the rocker lever 70, the spring force in the direction S2 restores the bias for the blocking lever arm 62 towards the pawl portion 54. [ The blocking arm 48 of the pawl 40 is moved past the transition region 39 to the primary stop 32 at the exit edge 31 of the catch 20 as the primary stops of the catch 20 abut the primary position. (32). A positive slope between the pawl blocking arm 48 and the primary catch stop 32 is sufficient to allow the pawl 40 to rotate into the catch 20 and a slight over- So that it does not touch the blocking lever arm 62. At this point the primary catch stop 32 begins to smoothly slide down along the pawl blocking arm 48 until the blocking arm is released and stops below the pawl stop 54, The tip smoothly slides down along the pawl recess wall 52 to return the locking unit 10 to the primary latch position of FIG.

The present invention is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein but is intended to cover modifications and alternative embodiments for various applications that fall within the scope of the appended claims. While the present invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof, the true scope of the invention should not be limited as other variations will become apparent to those skilled in the art by studying the drawings, detailed description, and the following claims.

All publications and patent applications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the level of knowledge of those of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. All publications and patent applications referred to herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each disclosure or patent application referred to herein was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

10 locking unit
12 base plate
13 The tip edge of the base plate
14 slots
16 striker (catch bolt)
20 catch
22 First catch of catch
24 catch shaft
26 Catch mounting holes
30 second catch of catch
31 Catch's exit edge (catch exit edge)
32 Catch's primary stop (primary catch stop)
33 The contact surface of the primary stop of the catch
34 Second stop of catch (Second catch stop)
36 Sliding surface of the catch
37 Rocker actuator part
38 Striking edge of first lumbar part of catch
39 transition region between the exit edge of the catch and the primary stop of the catch,
40 pills
42 Pawl pivot
48 pawl blocking arm (pawl blocking arm)
The contact surface of the blocking arm of 50 pawls
52 Lumbar region of the pawl (paw lumbar region, paw lumbar wall, lumbar region, lumbar region)
54 Stop of pawl (pawl stop)
60 blocking lever
62 Blocking arm of blocking lever (blocking lever arm)
64 Release edge of blocking lever (blocking lever release edge)
68 Blocking lever Rotation shaft (lever shaft)
69 Blocking lever mounting hole
70 rocker lever
71 Rocker lever rocker arm
72 blocking lever actuator
73 Turning part of rocker lever
74 Contact surface of rocker lever
S1 opening direction
S2 blocking lever bias direction
S3 Foil bias direction
S4 Closing direction
S5 direction of operation

Claims (17)

A locking unit for a vehicle having an open position, a primary latch position and a secondary latch position,
A catch comprising a first recess, a second recess, the catch having a catch rotational axis;
A pawl including a pawl blocking arm and having a pawl pivot axis;
A blocking lever having a blocking lever rotational axis; And
And a rocker lever having a swivel portion,
The catch is rotatable along a first path in an opening direction and a closing direction about a catch rotational axis so that the locking unit takes an open position, a primary latch position, or a secondary latch position,
The catch being biased in an open direction toward an open position about a catch rotational axis;
The second recess is disposed in the opening direction in front of the first recess;
The pawl is biased about the pawl pivot axis towards the catch;
The first recess is configured to receive the striker of the vehicle in an open position and to stably hold the striker in a first latch position and a second latch position,
The blocking lever being rotatable about a blocking lever rotational axis along a second path;
The rocker lever is rotatable about a turning point and traverses the first path and the second path;
When the locking unit is in the primary latch position or the secondary latch position, the blocking lever is adjacent the blocking arm against the catch,
When the locking unit is in the second latched position, the blocking lever extends into the second recess,
The catch actuating the rocker lever when the locking unit moves in the closing direction behind the secondary latch position and at a point in front of the primary latch position. The locking unit according to claim 1, wherein the pawl is disposed between the blocking lever and the catch. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the pawl further comprises a pawl stop; The catch further comprises a primary catch stop; When the locking unit is in the primary latch position, the locking lever is adjacent the pawl stop and the forehead blocking arm is adjacent the primary catch stop. The locking unit according to claim 2, wherein the pawl further comprises a concave portion, and when the locking unit is in the open position, the blocking lever is disposed at least partially in the concave portion. The locking unit according to claim 3, wherein the blocking lever further comprises a release edge, and the blocking lever is rotatable from at least the pawl stop to a position beyond the recessed gap. 4. The locking unit of claim 3, wherein the primary catch stop and the blocking arm further comprise a curved contact surface complementary to each other. The locking unit of claim 1, wherein the catch further comprises a rocker actuator portion projection, the rocker lever further including a contact surface, wherein the actuator portion intersects the contact surface. 8. The locking unit according to claim 7, wherein the displacement of the rocker lever transfers the lever blocking arm from the contact with the pawl stop. 4. The locking unit according to claim 3, wherein the second recess comprises an exit edge and a secondary stop on both sides thereof. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the exit edge curves toward a transition region between the exit edge and the primary stop; The secondary stop is curved toward the sliding surface of the catch. 11. The locking unit of claim 10, wherein the exit edge is pushed against the blocking arm to rotate the pawl from the secondary latch position to the primary latch position. The locking unit according to claim 3, wherein the blocking lever is biased toward the pawl stop so that the blocking lever is rotatable from the pawl stop to release the locking unit from the primary latch position and the blocking lever is connected to the actuating link of the vehicle. 13. The locking unit of claim 12, wherein when the locking unit is in the primary latch position, the blocking lever is adjacent the pawl stop and the blocking arm is adjacent the primary catch stop. 13. The locking mechanism of claim 12, wherein the catch further comprises a secondary catch stop, wherein when the locking unit is in the secondary latch position, the blocking lever is adjacent to the pawl stop and the blocking arm comprises a locking unit . 12. The locking unit of claim 11, wherein the primary catch stop and the blocking arm have a curved contact surface complementary to each other. 13. The locking unit of claim 12, wherein the second recess further comprises an exit edge and a second stop on both sides thereof, the second recess being adapted to retain the blocking arm when the locking unit is in the second latch position. 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the exit edge curves toward a transition region between the exit edge and the primary stop; The secondary stop is curved toward the sliding surface of the catch.

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