EP0694664B2 - Arrangement comprising an electric door lock with an electrical emergency function and its control and supply means - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to the assembly constituted an electric motor vehicle door lock and its control and supply means.

We know that, in the state of the art, locks of vehicle door initially were mechanically controlled both by the action of exterior and interior door handles as per action of the frieze zipper, which allows a condemnation from inside the vehicle. Such an organization requires to connect the lock to its control elements by linkages which present two disadvantages: on the one hand, they hamper standardization because they depend on the architecture of the vehicle and, on the other hand, they allow a relatively break-in easy vehicle doors coming to grip the linkages, which control the lock, by a hook slipped into the door by the window seal. We have therefore proposed to use vehicle door locks, which are electrically operated by an actuator, the different control bodies acting simply on switches which themselves determine the power supply to the actuator of the lock: such an electric lock has been described in FR-A-2,534,303.

Unfortunately, such an electric lock requires energy to open or close important, which must be taken from the electric battery of the vehicle. It follows that if the power supply supplied by the battery has a malfunction, either because the battery is discharged or because a power wire is cut or disconnected, the lock is blocked, which cannot be tolerated for a matter of security. It was therefore necessary to plan an emergency device allowing unlocking and opening the lock in the event of a power failure: first, we proposed a system mechanical unlocking, but there were then the above mentioned drawbacks for them locks operated by linkages. So we also have proposed, for example in patent FR-A-2,580 321, an emergency device using the barrel security associated with the lock mechanism, but, here again, we find the aforementioned drawbacks in terms of security and standardization.

We therefore proposed a backup device electric, as known from EP-A-0 584 499, in which a centralized backup battery was likely to provide the energy for opening the lock in the vehicle battery no longer in good condition to do. The disadvantage of such a solution comes from the fact that in the event of a vehicle accident it is entirely possible that the backup battery is disabled from operating at the same time as the vehicle battery, in which case all locks remain blocked. Furthermore, in such a device, each vehicle lock is connected to a centralized box, which receives the energy to be distributed to the locks, and returns it to locks based on the information he receives himself different locks. Now, a lock is ordered by a plurality of organs, which each go supply, depending on the position of the switch associated with them, electrical information that is needed bring back to the centralized electronic unit: the lock is controlled by the pallet or external handle, by the pallet or interior handle, by the barrel for the front doors and by the "child lock" devices for the rear doors. The result that it is necessary to establish a harness of wires between the electronic box centralized and each lock, two of these wires ensuring the transport of the energy intended for the operation opening or closing the lock.

We already know by JP-A-06/108711 and also by EP-A-0 584 499, an assembly conforming to preamble of claim 1. The present invention has for first goal to remove the problems posed by the existence of a centralized backup energy source. To do this, according to the invention, we associate with each door lock a backup battery housed in the door, each door lock becoming thus independent from others when the emergency function must be implemented. This characteristic is particularly important in terms of safety because, in the event of a motor vehicle accident, there is usually at least one door that is not deteriorated, so that the emergency function of this door will be in a condition to be used after the accident.

An additional object of the invention is to offer a set of control and power an electric motor vehicle lock, which reduces considerably the bundle of wires connected to each electric vehicle lock. To do this, we feed each electric lock in energy directly from the wires in the door and which are connected to the vehicle battery for example for powering an electric window regulator. In this way, we remove the power link that existed in the state of the art between each lock and the housing centralized electronics; this of course implies that we associate with each lock an electronic module, which manages information from the organs of controls the lock and determines the feeding mode lock according to this information. Simultaneously, each electronic module associated with a lock is connected to the electronic modules associated with other door locks of the same vehicle, so that an instruction given on a locks affect other locks: but we see that with this system, it suffices to establish between the vehicle locks a connection by a connector, which carries information but which only carries no energy. So we see that, in this way, we considerably simplifies the bundles of associated wires each electric lock of the vehicle, which leads a considerably reduced cost price.

The present invention therefore relates to a set consisting of a motor vehicle door, an electric door lock associated with its control and supply means, the opening of said lock being electrically secured by the operation an actuator powered by the vehicle battery, said lock being, in the event of a malfunction the electrical power supplied by said battery, likely to be opened through power electric supplied by a backup battery, characterized by the fact that the backup battery is installed in the door with which the lock is associated and, from preferably located in the lock.

According to a preferred embodiment, the battery rescue is associated with an electronic interface identifying the malfunction of the power supply by the vehicle battery: the electronic interface can include an audible warning signaling the backup battery artwork; we can also provide a time delay between the opening command of the lock and making this opening, time delay which is a function of the state of charge of the backup battery according to the number of times it has been brought to operate previously.

According to another preferred embodiment, wherein said vehicle has a plurality of locks door electrics, power supply of the lock is controlled by an implanted electronic module in the lock or in the door to which the lock is associated, said module receiving, on the one hand, the electrical energy of the vehicle battery and, on the other hand, the instructions provided by the control bodies associated with the lock controlled by said module, and being connected to at least one other electric lock of vehicle door by a connector to ensure transmission of information relating to the sentencing status or unlocking the lock to said another electric door lock.

It can advantageously be provided that the module electronics incorporates associated electronic interface to the backup battery, to form a circuit unique.

Advantageously, the lock is provided according to the invention is associated with two door handles, one inside and the other outside, the organs lock control device with two switches each associated with one of said handles for generate the power supply for the actuator of the lock in order to cause the opening of said lock. For the front doors of the vehicle, the lock control also have a switch with two positions associated with a barrel of lock: this allows you to order with the key, which maneuver the barrel, the condemnation or the unlocking of the lock: when the lock is locked, opening can no longer be caused by the operation of the outer handle but only, for safety issues, by the operation of the handle interior. The switch associated with the operating handle interior can be in series with a switch to inhibit the opening of the door by the interior door handle: this avoids that the occupants of the passenger compartment, in particular children, can open the rear doors from the inside of the vehicle.

We can also provide for a "super-conviction" doors: for this purpose, the switches associated with the two operating handles of the lock are in series with a contactor arranged in a central box receiving instructions by remote control for operating said contactor, this contactor enabling inhibit the opening of the vehicle door by the interior handle of said door: this avoids a vehicle break-in by a simple glass breakage providing access to the interior handle, which remains active in case of simple conviction. The central box can also receive instructions by remote control locking or unlocking the lock, in which case it transmits the information on the connector the lock for operation by the electronic module of said lock; of course, said connector passes on this information on all of the locks, which are related to him.

Advantageously, the connector which is associated at each door lock of the vehicle is constituted by a wire carrying control information from conviction, a second thread carrying information unlocking command and, if applicable if necessary, a third thread carrying the super-conviction information.

The connector can be connected to an annex box supplying at least one associated auxiliary actuator to a vehicle lock other than a door, for example a boot lock or a lock petrol door; the unlocking thread of connector can be linked to a shock detector for, that in the event of an impact, all the door locks be unlocked. We can predict that the central box associated with a remote control and the annex box be united in a single centralized unit, said centralized unit can receive alarm information and provide their operation on the connector.

To better understand the object of the invention, we are going to describe it now, as examples purely illustrative and not limiting, several modes of realization represented on the attached drawing.

• la figure 1 représente schématiquement les connections d'une serrure selon l'invention, ladite serrure étant reliée à un boítier centralisé de l'état de la technique ;
• la figure 2 représente schématiquement une serrure, ladite serrure étant associée à un dispositif de secours de type quelconque non représenté :

• la figure 3 représente schématiquement un ensemble de quatre serrures de portière reliées entre elles par leur connecteur et associées à un boítier annexe qui permet la commande de deux actionneurs complémentaires ;
• la figure 4 représente un ensemble associé à une télécommande, qui peut agir par l'intermédiaire d'une unité centralisée sur les quatre serrures de portière et sur les deux actionneurs annexes du véhicule, les deux portières arrière étant équipées de "condamnation-enfant" :
• la figure 5 représente un schéma détaillé d'un ensemble correspondant à l'invention, cet ensemble comportant, en outre, une télécommande permettant de commander à distance la condamnation ou la décondamnation des serrures ainsi que la super-condamnation :
• la figure 6 représente le schéma électronique d'un module associé à l'une des serrures de l'ensemble représenté sur la figure 5.

On this drawing :

• Figure 1 schematically shows the connections of a lock according to the invention, said lock being connected to a centralized housing of the prior art;
• FIG. 2 schematically represents a lock, said lock being associated with an emergency device of any type not shown:

• Figure 3 schematically shows a set of four door locks interconnected by their connector and associated with an auxiliary housing which allows the control of two complementary actuators;
• FIG. 4 represents an assembly associated with a remote control, which can act by means of a centralized unit on the four door locks and on the two auxiliary actuators of the vehicle, the two rear doors being equipped with "child lock" :
• FIG. 5 represents a detailed diagram of an assembly corresponding to the invention, this assembly comprising, in addition, a remote control making it possible to remotely control the locking or unlocking of the locks as well as the super-locking:
• FIG. 6 represents the electronic diagram of a module associated with one of the locks of the assembly represented in FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 1, it can be seen that an electrically controlled door lock for an automotive vehicle has been designated by 1. The lock 1 is associated with a backup battery 2 and with an electronic interface 3. The battery 2 and the interface 3 are linked to the lock which is placed inside the vehicle door with which said lock is associated. The energy for controlling the lock 1 comes from a centralized housing 4 which is itself connected to the battery 4 a of the vehicle. The control members of the lock 1 consist of an exterior door handle 5, an interior door handle 6 and a lock cylinder 7: the presence of the cylinder 7 shows that the lock of FIG. 1 is a vehicle door lock. The members 5, 6 and 7 are in fact switches, the opening or closing states of which are transmitted to the centralized box 4 and to the electronic interface 3.

If, following an accident or any other malfunction, the centralized box 4 is no longer in able to supply the lock with the energy it needs for its opening or closing command, interface 3 detects the absence of power and replaces vehicle battery energy with energy backup battery 2, which is associated with the lock. This provision is particularly interesting in the event of an accident because the four doors of the vehicle are generally not damaged simultaneously, so that there is always at least one lock 1 can be opened by means of energy backup battery 2.

FIG. 2 represents an electric lock 10 on the door of a motor vehicle. The emergency device, which is associated with this lock can be any and is not shown. The lock 10 is associated with control members 15, 16, 17 which are respectively analogous to the members 5, 6, and 7 of the lock of FIG. 1. The lock 10 is associated with an electronic module 13 which directly receives the energy necessary for the opening or closing operation of the lock, this energy being taken from the door of the motor vehicle with which the lock 10 is associated, for example on the driver supplying the motor of the electric window regulator. The lock 10 is connected by the two wires 18 a , 18 b of a connector 18 to the other electric locks of the vehicle.

We see that a lock of this type avoids the beam of wire, which connected the centralized box, associated with the Figure 1 lock, at the door where the lock was located 1 and its control means 5, 6 and 7. In the In this case, the role of the centralized box 4 is held by the module 13 and, only, the connector 18 starts from the lock 10 towards the other doors of the vehicle to transmit the information to these door locks relating to the state of conviction or unlocking of lock 10, information that will allow, by the modules associated with said other locks, to put said other locks in the same state of condemnation or unlocking that the lock 10 herself. This considerable simplification of the bundle of wires from each lock influences beneficial on the cost price of the whole, especially since the connector wires 18 do not carry no energy and can therefore be wires of small section.

Figure 3 schematically shows all four door locks 20 a, 20 b, 20 c, 20 d of a vehicle, each of these locks being of the type shown in Figure 2. The wire 28 a connector which connects the four locks, it transits information about the locks while sentence, on wire 28b, is made to transit information for unlocking the locks. The connector (28 a , 28 b ) is also connected to an annex box 29, which receives an electrical supply from the vehicle battery and which supplies two actuators 27 a , 27 b , intended, the first for locking / unlocking the boot. and the second on opening / closing the fuel door.

In Figure 4, there is shown a variant of the embodiment of Figure 3, wherein the four electric locks of the four doors of a vehicle can be controlled by a remote control transmitter housing 32. As for the embodiments of Figures 2 and 3, each of the locks is powered directly by the vehicle battery. The transmitter unit 32 is associated with a receiver unit 33 powered by the vehicle battery. The transmitter box 32 includes a transmission control (locking / unlocking) and a transmission control "super-locking", which, in known manner, prevents, when it is in place, any operation of opening the locks of the vehicle by the interior handles. The information relating to the locking or unlocking is provided to the locks by the central box 33, respectively on the wires 38 a and 38 b of the connector, while the information relating to the super-locking is supplied on the wire 38 c . On the two rear doors of the vehicle, the locks 31 c and 31 d include “child lock” switches designated by 34 c and 34 d respectively, these switches making it possible to inhibit any opening of the lock by the interior handle of the door. The switches 34 c , 34 d can be controlled by a push button arranged in the door edge or by a button arranged on the dashboard.

The wires 38 a and 38 b of the central box 33 are also used to control an annex box 39 similar to the box 29 of the embodiment in FIG. 3, this annex box 39 supplying the actuators annexes 37 to 37 b identical to the actuators 27 a , 27 b of the embodiment of FIG. 3.

We see that the advantages of the device, which just described, are the same as those that have been indicated for the realization of figure 3, these advantages essentially stemming from the fact that the locks of door are supplied directly with energy from of the door where they are and that the interconnection between the locks is provided by a connector whose the wires carry no energy but only informations.

In Figure 5, there is shown in more detail a set according to the invention of the type which has been roughly defined in Figure 4. However, in this realization, the four electric door locks of the vehicle are each associated with a battery emergency like the locks defined for the realization of Figure 1. The device of Figure 5 comprises a remote control and it is therefore provided with a central box associated with a receiver decoder of remote control: in addition, it includes actuators appendices intended in particular for the lock of the trunk of the vehicle and to the fuel door lock, these actuators annexes being associated with an annex box, which is incorporated in the central box to constitute with him a single centralized unit.

FIG. 5 therefore represents an assembly, which comprises four electric locks 131 a , 131 b , 131 c , 131 d intended for the four doors of a motor vehicle; the locks 131 a and 131 b are intended for the two front doors and the locks 131 c and 131 d are intended for the two rear doors. Each of these locks incorporates a backup battery and an electronic circuit, which combines the electronic interface associated with the backup battery and the electronic module due to the direct connection of each lock to the power supply of the vehicle battery; this electronic circuit is, in the drawing, shown diagrammatically, for each lock, by a rectangle and designated respectively by 103 a , 103 b , 103 c , 103 d ; it is shown in detail in Figure 6. Each of the locks is connected directly to the vehicle battery by connection on the wire which feeds the window lifter incorporated in the door: this connection has been shown diagrammatically by the connections 150 a , 150 b , 150 c , 150 d towards ground and 151 a , 151 b , 151 c , 151 d towards the positive pole of the battery.

The two locks 131 a and 131 b are each associated with three control members, namely a switch 105 a , 105 b respectively, corresponding to the external handle, a switch 106 a , 106 b respectively, corresponding to the internal handle of the door and a switch 107 a , 107 b respectively, corresponding to the door barrel, that is to say the safety barrel which is capable of being operated by the user with a key for opening the door. The barrel switch is a two-position switch which therefore allows the locking or unlocking of the lock to be controlled, depending on the direction of rotation of the key. The electric locks 131 c and 131 d are associated with two control members, namely, on the one hand, the switch 105 c , 105 d respectively, corresponding to the exterior door handle and, on the other hand, the switch 106 c , 106 d respectively, corresponding to the interior door handle; in addition, these locks are associated with a switch 134 c , 134 d respectively, which can be operated independently of the other two and which is in series with the switch 106 c , 106 d respectively: this switch 134 c , 134 d corresponds to the "child condemnation", that is to say a ban on opening the rear doors from the interior handle; the "child lock" switch can be a manual push button located in the door edge or a control button brought back to the dashboard.

As explained above, the four locks of the vehicle are linked together by a connector capable of transporting information relating to the state of locking, unlocking or super-locking of the locks. In the particular case, the connector comprises three wires 138 a , 138 b , 138 c : the wire 138 a carries information relating to the conviction; line 138 b carries information relating to unlocking: line 138 c carries information relating to super-conviction. The super-condemnation is shown diagrammatically in the drawing in FIG. 5 by a switch 152, which is in series with the switches 105 a , 105 b , 105 c and 105 d and 106 a , 106 b , 106 c , 106 d associated with the interior and exterior door handles. When this switch 152 is open, the door handles cannot give the electric locks, which correspond to them, any opening instruction. The deadlocking switch 152 is disposed within the central unit 133, which receives the two connections 153, 154, remote control commands provided by a receiver-decoder 133 associated with the central unit 133 and possibly integrated with it. The receiver 133 a receives its instructions from a remote control box 132, which is operated remotely by the user. These instructions are of two types: on the one hand, the locking / unlocking instructions, which pass through the connection 154, and, on the other hand, the super-condemnation instructions which pass through the connection 153, which is connected to the switch 152 to cause it to open or close. The centralized unit 133 is connected directly to the vehicle battery by the connections 155, 156. Furthermore, a shock detector 140 is capable of sending unlocking information by the connection 157 on the wire 138 b .

The centralized unit 133 is, moreover, connected by the connections 158, 159 to two auxiliary actuators 137 a , 137 b associated respectively with the electric locks of the boot and of the fuel door of the vehicle. Finally, the centralized unit 133 can receive additional information such as, for example, that shown by the connection 141 coming from alarm circuits or presence detectors. Of course, the centralized unit 133 can control a light-emitting diode to signal the state of the switch 152 and, consequently, the state of super-locking of the vehicle locks.

It can be seen that, in an assembly of the type which has just been described, there are two essential advantages: on the one hand, the backup battery intended for each of the locks is integrated inside the lock, this which is particularly advantageous in the event of a vehicle accident since the four doors of the vehicle are generally not simultaneously damaged, so that at least one of the locks is capable of operating with its backup battery, even if the battery of the vehicle is out of service; on the other hand, since the energy required to operate an electric lock is taken inside the door with which said lock is associated, there is no energy transport link between a lock and the centralized unit 133, which may be in the vicinity of the dashboard and is itself connected for its operation to the vehicle battery. The only existing connections, between the centralized unit 133 and the four electric locks of the vehicle, are constituted by the three wires 138 a , 138 b , 138 c which form a three-wire connector; said wires carry only information signals and can therefore be very fine; it follows that the cost price of such a connector, as well as its connection cost, is extremely reduced compared to what it was necessary to achieve when, as in the prior art, the supply of all the locks of the vehicle was carried out by a centralized box, which provided only the energy necessary to open all the locks.

In Figure 6, there is shown the detailed diagram of the electronic circuit, which is associated with each of the locks 131 a , 131 b , 131 c , 131 d of the assembly of Figure 5. This electronic circuit includes a switch 134 associated to the "child condemnation" and barrel controls 161, 162 acting, the first in the sense of unlocking and the second in the direction of the condemnation; in this way, this circuit can be used both for the front doors and for the rear doors, it being understood that the functions associated with these elements will be used one or the other, that which is not used does not interfere for the operation of the assembly.

The electronic circuit shown in the figure 6 is connected to the positive pole of the vehicle battery by terminal 200 and at the negative pole, that is to say at ground, via terminal 201. All the masses, which are shown in the circuit, are therefore connected to terminal 201 of the printed card carrying the circuit. The backup battery associated with the card is shown in 202: it is a 9 volt battery which is connected by a diode 205 at point 203 of the circuit, a capacitor 204 being provided in parallel for interference suppression. Point 203 of the circuit is also connected to terminal 200 via a diode 206 and a resistor 207. We therefore see that with this assembly the backup battery 202 will provide its energy if the voltage on terminal 200 becomes lower at a threshold of approximately 9 volts. Tension at the point 203 of the circuit makes it possible to supply terminal 208 with the elements, which are described below and which ensure the operation of the electric lock in the event of a breakdown of power from the battery. But it is necessary, to supply the various electronic components of the card, to have a protected stabilized voltage against overvoltages, ripples and parasites. This protection is obtained thanks to the subset designated by 209, subset which allows to obtain a stabilized voltage on terminal 210; the subset 209 includes, in particular, a diode Zener 211, which prevents overvoltages, and a transistor-bal-last 212.

A "NAND" door 213 has its 214 connected entrance at terminal 210 and its input 215 connected to the power supply 200 via a diode 216 and a resistance 217. The same input 215 is connected to the point 218 itself connected to ground via two branches in parallel: the first has one resistor 219 and the second has a resistor 220 and a capacitor 221 of about 5 mF. The voltage at point 218, by the play of the resistance ratio 219 and 220, is about one-third of the voltage at terminals of capacitor 221. If the voltage on the input 215 is less than a threshold, entry 215 is considered as being low and since the entry 214 is still high, the exit from gate 213 is at the high level. So we see that, if the output 222 of door 213 is high, it means that the voltage of capacitor 221 is less than a value given that we set ourselves, for example 20 volts, and that the power supplied by the vehicle battery is in malfunction.

When output 222 is high, a multivibrator 223, operating with a Schmitt trigger, controls the conduction of transistor 224 by a base voltage in slots and, as soon as the transistor 224 opens, the coil 225, being always connected to the terminal 208, allows charging of capacitor 221 by through diode 226. This charge takes place according to the modality detailed below, as long as the capacitor 221 has not reached the tension we set for ourselves, namely 20 volts. When this voltage is reached, the input 215 from door 213 goes high, so that the output 222 goes low, which blocks the transisor 224 and stops charging the capacitor 221. When the output 222 is high level, the sub-assembly 227 comes into operation to trigger an audible alarm produced by a quartz 228. In fact, the charge of the capacitor 221 by the coil 225 is carried out by limiting the current in the coil to avoid over discharging the backup battery 202 which supplies the energy. Indeed, when the base of transistor 224 is at the level high, the current is established in the coil 225 until it reaches a value considered as the maximum tolerable. At this time, the base of transistor 229 is brought at sufficient voltage for transistor 229 turn on and this change of state is reflected on input 230 of multivibrator 223 so that the output of this multivibrator goes low, which blocks transistor 224. Coil 225 being charged then discharges through diode 226 to the capacitor 221 and the subsequent charging phase occurs when the output of the multivibrator 223 returns to the level high. This succession of charge sequences takes place as long as the output 222 remains high. In this way, we bring the voltage across the capacitor 221 at the value of 20 volts while limiting the current dump.

Note that if the capacitor 221 loses its charge gradually over time, nothing happens as long as the vehicle battery voltage remains normal on terminal 200. On the other hand, if this voltage drops or disappears, input 215 goes to a level low, which results in additional charge of the capacitor 221 and, simultaneously, a start-up horn 227. As a result, the driver of the vehicle is immediately notified of a malfunction of its battery, which allows it to get the restoration done as quickly as possible. Otherwise, if the battery voltage on terminal 200 is normal, the capacitor 221 is charged directly by the coil 225, the diode 226 and the resistor 280 and the voltage across capacitor 221 is 12 volts. In other words, the voltage of capacitor 221 only increased to 20 volts in the event of a breakdown of battery. When the battery voltage is normal, the voltage across capacitor 221 is 12 volts or returns to 12 volts by progressive loss if it had been increased to 20 volts following a malfunction: this precaution makes it possible to prolong the life of capacitor 221.

The electric lock actuator to which is associated the circuit of figure 6 is a current motor continuous 231, which is controlled by transistor 232 associated with its negative terminal; the transistor 232 is a MOS transistor. When the tension battery power is normal, the power supply of the motor is effected through the diode 233; on the contrary, when the battery voltage is gone, the power of motor 231 takes place through diode 234 by discharging the capacitor 221. The Zener diode 235, connected between earth and point 236 located between the motor 231 and the transistor 232, is intended only to protect transistor 232 against inherent overvoltages when the engine 231 operates.

On the basis of transistor 232, a circuit 237 comprising a resistor and a capacitor, circuit which allows a time delay for the power supply 231 motor. This precaution will prevent to supply the motor 231 for a very long time, the latter remaining blocked at the end of the race, which would cause the deterioration of the engine 231; this circumstance could intervene if, for example, we acted during a significant amount of time on the door handle ensuring the closing of the corresponding switch. To control the power supply to motor 231, you must so act on the base of transistor 232 to bring this base at high level. This base is connected by the line 238 at the exit of a "NO OR" door 239, one of which inputs is connected to line 222 while the other input is connected to the handle switches interior and exterior door; we have designated by 240 the circuit terminal on which the switch arrives of interior handle and by 241 the terminal on which comes the switch on the outside handle. The switch 134 of security "conviction-child" is in series on the line coming from terminal 240. The operation of a handle switch causes grounding from the corresponding terminal 240, 241. If terminal 240 is grounded, switch 134 being assumed closed, entrance 242 of door 239 is at a low level. If the other entrance to door 239 is high, this means from the explanations given above, that the capacitor 221 is being charged and, in this case, the exit 238 of the door 239 is at the level low, so the 231 motor cannot be powered. This precaution allows not to feed the motor as long as the capacitor 221 is not sufficiently charge. If, on the contrary, line 222 is at low level, that means that either the voltage of battery is normal, or capacitor 221 is fully charged and, in both cases, as soon as entry 242 is low, exit 238 is low high which allows the supply of the motor 231.

So that the outside handle can bring at the low level, the entry 242 of door 239, the transistor 243 is conducting, that is to say that its base is at the high level. The base of transistor 243 is connected to the output of a "RS" type 244 flip-flop, the two inputs 245, 246 are connected respectively to unlocking 161 and locking terminals 162 of the double position switch of the barrel of the lock. If the switch associated with terminal 161 has been operated to bring the unlocking of the lock, line 245 has been temporarily grounded and, in this case, the output of flip-flop 244 is in the state high, which allows the motor 231 to be controlled by the exterior handle. If, on the contrary, the last action on the barrel was an action causing the momentary mass, by the corresponding switch, from terminal 162, input 246 has been temporarily set to ground and flip-flop 244 has taken the opposite state, that is to say that its output is low, which prevents the control of the motor 231 by the external handle. Information relating to the earthing of the unlocking terminal 161 or locking terminal 162 of the barrel are transmitted to the other locks of the vehicle via terminals 247 and 248 respectively. The flip-flop 244 therefore plays the role of memory to keep on its output a state which corresponds to the last order of conviction or unlocking given on the barrel. In the absence of any grounding on terminals 161 or 162, inputs 245 and 246 are high level due to connection of resistors 249 and 250 respectively on power supply 208. After a barrel action for momentary grounding from either of inputs 245 or 246, said entry goes back to the high level but this has no influence on the state of the output of flip-flop 244. A barrel idle state, none of the two switches corresponding to terminals 161 and 162 is not activated: the two lines 245 and 246 are at the high level and the exit of flip-flop 244 keeps the memory of the last instruction provided by the barrel, even in the event of break in the power supplied by the vehicle battery since resistors 249 and 250 are connected to the backup battery. So we see that the dysfunction of the vehicle battery has no influence on the security of closing the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

In the event that, following an accident, the two terminals 161 and 162 would be put simultaneously to ground, the output of flip-flop 244 goes to high level to authorize the opening of the door for security purposes.

Claims (17)

1. A motor vehicle comprising a plurality of assemblies each consisting of a motor vehicle door and an electric door lock (1; 131 a, 131b, 131c, 131d) associated with its control and supply means, said lock being opened electrically by operating an actuator (231) supplied by the vehicle battery (4a) the said lock being, in the event of malfunctioning of the electrical supply from the said battery, able to be opened, by virtue of the electrical supply from an emergency battery, characterised by the fact that each door lock is associated to an emergency battery(2,202) located in the door with which the lock is associated, each door lock being thus independent with regard to the others when the emergency function is used.
2. Vehicle according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the emergency battery (2,202) is located in the lock.
3. Vehicle according to Claim 1 or 2, characterised by the fact that the emergency battery (2) is associated with an electronic interface (3) registering the malfunctioning of the supply from the vehicle battery (4a).
4. Vehicle according to Claim 3, characterised by the fact that the electronic interface comprises an audible alarm (227, 228) indicating the use of the emergency battery (202) and/or a time delay (237) for the opening action with respect to the command, which is an increasing function of the discharge of the emergency battery (202).
5. Vehicle according to one of Claims 1 to 4, , characterised by the fact that the electrical supply to each lock (10) is controlled by an electronic module (13) located in the door with which the lock is associated, the said module receiving on the one hand the electrical power from the vehicle battery and on the other hand the instructions supplied by the control devices (15, 16, 17) associated with the lock controlled by the said module, and being connected to at least one other electric door lock of the vehicle by a connector (18) for transmitting information relating to the state of locking or unlocking of the lock (10) to the other electric door lock.
6. Vehicle according to Claims 2 and 5 taken together, characterised by the fact that the electronic module (13) is located in the lock.
7. Vehicle according to Claims 3 and 5 taken together, characterised by the fact that the electronic module incorporates the electronic interface in order to constitute a single circuit (103a, 103b, 103c, 103d)
8. Vehicle according to one of Claims 5 to 7, characterised by the fact that the lock (1;10;131a,131b,131c,131d) is associated with two door handles, one internal (6;16;106a,106b,106c,106d) and the other external (5;15;105a,105b,105c,105d), the lock control devices including two switches each associated with one of the said handles and inserted on the power supply to the actuator (231).
9. Vehicle according to one of Claims 5 to 8, characterised by the fact that the lock control devices include a two-position switch associated with a lock cylinder (7; 17; 107a, 107b, 107c, 107d).
10. Vehicle according to Claim 8, characterised by the fact that the switch associated with the internal operating handle is in series with a switch (34c, 34d, 134c, 134d; 134) for inhibiting the opening of the door by means of the internal handle of the said door.
11. Vehicle according to one of Claims 8 or 10, characterised by the fact that the switches associated with the two lock operating handles are in series with a contactor (152) disposed in a central box (33) receiving the operating instructions for the said contactor by remote control, this contactor make it possible to inhibit the opening of the vehicle door by action on the internal handle in order to establish a super-locking state.
12. Vehicle according to one of Claims 11, characterised by the fact that the central box (33) receives, by remote control, the instruction for locking or unlocking the lock (31a, 31b, 31c, 31d) and transmit the information to the lock connector (18) for use by the electronic module (13) of the said lock.
13. Vehicle according to one of Claims 5, characterised by the fact that the connector (18), which is associated with each vehicle door lock, consists of a wire (18a, 38a) conveying the locking control information, a second wire (18b, 38b) conveying the unlocking control information and in the case of an assembly according to Claim 9, a third wire (38c) conveying the super-locking information.
14. Vehicle according to one of Claims 5 or 13 characterised by the fact that the connector (18) is connected to a related box (39) supplying at least one related actuator (37a, 37b) associated with a vehicle lock other than a door lock.
15. Vehicle according to Claim 13, characterised by the fact that the unlocking wire (138b) of the connector is connected to an impact detector (140).
16. Vehicle according to Claims 11 and 14 taken together, characterised by the fact that the central box and the related box are joined in a single centralised unit (133),
17. Vehicle according to Claim 16, characterised by the fact that the centralised unit (133) receives alarm information and supplies its use to the connector (18).

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