CN113389445A

CN113389445A - Motor vehicle lock

Info

Publication number: CN113389445A
Application number: CN202010174545.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 徐平; 周勇; 周俊
Original assignee: Kiekert AG
Current assignee: Kaiyide Automobile System Changshu Co ltd
Priority date: 2020-03-13
Filing date: 2020-03-13
Publication date: 2021-09-14
Also published as: KR20210117175A

Abstract

The invention relates to a motor vehicle lock, comprising: a locking mechanism (3, 4) which mainly comprises a rotary lock fork (3) and a locking claw (4); a motorized drive means (5) for opening/closing the locking mechanism (3, 4); sensor unit (7, 8, 9) for a locking mechanism (3, 4), comprising a rotary catch sensor (7) and a pawl sensor (8) which are connected to a common control unit (10) for evaluation. According to the invention, the sensor unit (7, 8, 9) further comprises a further rotary fork sensor (9) which is evaluated by the control unit (10).

Description

Motor vehicle lock

Technical Field

The invention relates to a motor vehicle lock, comprising: the locking mechanism mainly comprises a rotary lock fork and a locking claw; a motorized/machine-driven drive for opening/closing the locking mechanism; a sensor unit for a locking mechanism, the sensor unit comprising a rotary catch sensor and a pawl sensor, which are connected to a common control unit for evaluation.

Background

For motor vehicle locks with the above-described structure, such as the one described in document EP 2333208 a2, the main consideration is to avoid so-called false closure/surface closure. Such a false shutdown can generally be understood as one of the following fault states of the locking mechanism: in this fault state, the acquisition or the setting in the main locking position/full locking position is indicated on the basis of the relevant sensor signal, but the main locking position is not actually reached. For this purpose, the prior art is designed such that: the rotary catch sensor can assume a total of three different switching positions depending on the position of the rotary catch. Whereas the pawl sensor acquires only two switching positions depending on the position of the pawl.

The configuration provided for implementing the pawl switch and the rotary fork switch or rotary latch switch thus includes a two-stage pawl switch and a three-stage rotary latch switch. In this way, a total of six different closing states can be detected, as a result of which the safety as a whole can be increased. However, the implementation of a rotary fork sensor requires a special mechanical design to be able to distinguish between the open switching position, the intermediate switching position and the main latching switching position. Furthermore, this requires the use of a special rotary latch switch, which is configured as a center zero switch. Both measures increase the construction costs and are therefore not implemented in practice for cost reasons.

For a similar motor vehicle lock, such as the one described in document WO 2016/146108 a1 of the applicant, an actuator is provided which causes an at least intermittent opening of the door leaf relative to the motor vehicle body. An additional driving device is provided in addition to the actuator to fully open/close the door leaf. In order to fix the gap-like opening of the door leaf, the actuator has a drive disk which not only moves against the stop, but also actuates a sensor or switch which switches off the actuator. Thus, a sensor has been described in general terms, by means of which not only the displacement path of the actuator or drive but also the gap between the door leaf and the vehicle body can be detected. Such sensors are also referred to as "Ajar sensors" in principle, meaning "Ajar" or "almost off" in english.

In addition to the structural design of this type of prior art according to document EP 2333208 a2 being relatively complex, in practice the following may occur in addition to the false closure described: the locking mechanism acquires a functional position between a pre-locking position and a main locking position. In this case, the open position of the locking mechanism cannot be clearly distinguished from the relevant intermediate position merely by means of, for example, a pawl sensor or a rotary fork sensor. In this case, the control unit which evaluates the sensor signal therefore does not drive the motorized drive, for example to close the locking mechanism, or does not generate such a signal. The present invention generally aims to remedy the above-mentioned problems.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the invention is to further develop such a motor vehicle lock such that indistinguishable functional states are avoided, in particular so that the motorized drive device operates without defects.

In order to solve this problem, a motor vehicle lock of this type within the scope of the invention is characterized in that the sensor unit comprises, in addition to the rotary fork sensor and the pawl sensor, a further rotary fork sensor which is evaluated by the control unit.

The invention is therefore based firstly on the recognition that: the use of a rotary latch fork sensor, a pawl sensor and additionally a further rotary latch fork sensor significantly increases the safety, since indistinguishable functional states are thereby avoided. According to the invention, the control unit is able to unambiguously recognize the respective functional state of the locking mechanism in the sense of "open", "pre-lock", "main lock". In particular, at the beginning of and during the opening/closing process, the signals sent by the three sensors to the control unit for evaluation differ or are differentiated in combination from the respective signals, in particular in the "open position" and the "closed position" of the locking mechanism. Thus, false shutdowns and the following are directly avoided: the "open position" shown therein actually corresponds to an intermediate position between the pre-lock position and the main lock position. Thus, for example, the motorized drive can operate without any problems, in particular when the locking mechanism is closed. This is a major advantage.

As described above, the three sensors provided according to the invention, namely the rotary latch fork sensor, the pawl sensor and the further rotary latch fork sensor, can acquire a plurality of different combined functional states at the beginning of the opening/closing process and during the opening/closing process. That is, each sensor itself can acquire at least two different individual functional states. If the sensor is configured as a switch, in particular as a microswitch, the two functional states mentioned above can be identified as "on" or "1" or as "off" or "0".

A total of 8, i.e. 23, combined functional states can thereby be provided by means of three different sensors. It is usually designed to: three sensors acquire at least four different combined functional states. In addition, most of the time, the design is that: the associated combined functional states of the three sensors during the opening/closing process are all different from the combined functional state in the "open" state or the "closed" state. False-off and false-on, or indistinguishable intermediate states, can thereby be avoided explicitly.

The drive is typically a tensioning drive. The invention also relates to a motor vehicle hatch, in particular a motor vehicle door, which is equipped with a motor vehicle lock having the aforementioned function.

In this way, a motor vehicle lock and a corresponding motor vehicle hatch are provided overall, which are particularly simple in construction and at the same time ensure that all functional states are safely adopted and different intermediate states are correctly identified and excluded. As a result, undefined functional states between the pre-locking position and the main locking position do not occur any more, or such functional states are detected and in such functional states, the drive, which is advantageously designed as a tensioning drive, can easily ensure that the locking mechanism is closed. Any false shutdown will also be identified, or will not occur any more. This is also a major advantage.

Drawings

The invention is explained in more detail below on the basis of the drawings, which show only one exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 1 shows a motor vehicle lock according to the invention in a schematic overview.

Fig. 2 shows a time diagram of the respective sensor in the relevant functional state.

Fig. 3 shows a time profile/time curve of the sensor signal.

Detailed Description

The motor vehicle lock shown in the figures is arranged on or in a motor vehicle door 1 which is only schematically shown in fig. 1. The motor vehicle door 1 can be opened and closed relative to a motor vehicle body 2, which is not shown in detail and is only indicated schematically. The motor vehicle door 1 can be a motor vehicle side door 1. In principle, however, the motor vehicle lock, which will be described in greater detail below, can also be mounted in or on a motor vehicle hatch, for example a motor vehicle tailgate, in general, but this is not illustrated in detail.

The basic construction of a motor vehicle lock comprises a locking mechanism 3, 4 which essentially comprises a rotary catch 3 and a pawl 4. Furthermore, a motor or motor-driven drive 5 is provided. According to the present exemplary embodiment, the motorized drive 5 is designed as a tensioning drive 5 for the locking mechanism 3, 4. In this connection, the motorized drive 5 acts on the rotary latch fork 3 and ensures, for example, via the adjusting element 6: so that the rotary locking fork 3 is pulled tight from the pre-locking position. In contrast, the clockwise movement of the rotary latch fork 3 shown in fig. 2 and the leftward movement of the adjusting part 6 in the direction of the motorized drive 5 are shown.

The basic construction of the motor vehicle lock also comprises a

sensor unit

7, 8, 9. According to the present embodiment, by means of the

sensor units

7, 8, 9 of the locking mechanisms 3, 4, the complete functional state of the locking mechanisms 3, 4 can be detected. The displacement travel of the motorized drive 5 can likewise be detected. For this purpose, a control unit 10 is provided which evaluates the

individual sensors

7, 8, 9 of the

sensor units

7, 8, 9. The contact areas of the

sensor units

7, 8, 9 are shaded in fig. 2.

The

sensor units

7, 8, 9 comprise in particular a rotary catch sensor 7, a pawl sensor 8 and an additional, further rotary catch sensor 9 according to the invention, which are all connected to a control unit 10. The control unit 10 can thus analyze the individual sensor signals output by the

sensors

7, 8, 9. Furthermore, the motorized drive or tensioning drive 5 is connected to a control unit 10 and is controlled as a function of the evaluation of the respective sensor signals.

According to the present exemplary embodiment, all

sensors

7, 8, 9 detect at least two different functional states. In practice, the

sensors

7, 8, 9 are each switches, in particular micro-switches.

The sensors or

switches

7, 8, 9 thus acquire the individual functional states shown in fig. 3, namely a "1" indicating "actuated" and a "0" indicating "unactuated or open". In this regard, fig. 3 shows a time profile/time curve of the individual sensor signals from the

sensors

7, 8, 9. Fig. 3 also shows the signals emitted by the control unit 10 which act on the motorized drive or tensioning drive 5.

The signal of the motorized drive 5 is represented by a forward running "1", a standstill "0" and finally a reverse running "1". Each individual signal is shown over time, wherein the functional states of the locking mechanisms 3, 4 are additionally shown in fig. 3 in the following sense: opening, beginning of the tensioning process ("ringing start"), end of the tensioning process ("ringing stop"), and finally closing or door closing ("door closed"). Finally, the return of the motorized drive or tensioning drive 5 in the sense of "reverse" or "reverse stop" for ending the reverse operation is also shown.

Since the three

sensors

7, 8, 9 each independently and respectively detect the two states "1" and "0", the

relevant sensor

7, 8, 9 can detect a plurality of different combined functional states at the beginning of the opening/closing process and during the opening/closing process, for example in the following sense: "011" or "101". For a total of three

sensors

7, 8, 9, each having two functional states "1" and "0", there are a total of eight (23) combined functional states, which are all shown in fig. 3. In order to be able to distinguish the individual functional states without problems, the eight combined functional states are each assigned the letters a to H.

It can be seen that during the time period between the start of the closing movement and the closing movement, i.e. between the "starting start of the tensioning procedure" and the "ending stop of the tensioning procedure", the

sensors

7, 8, 9 acquire a plurality of different combined functional states in total, and according to this exemplary embodiment a total of four different combined functional states, which correspond to a, B, C and D shown in fig. 3.

These functional states a, B, C and D differ from the "open" state of the locking mechanisms 3, 4 and thus from the "open" state of the motor vehicle door 1 relative to the vehicle body 2 (combined functional state E) and from the closed state (combined functional state F). In this way, possible intermediate states of the locking mechanism 3, 4 between the preliminary locking position VR and the main locking position HR shown in fig. 3 can be detected without defects, and in contrast to the prior art, indistinguishable functional states do not (any longer) occur.

A comparison of fig. 2 with fig. 3 clearly shows that, starting from the "open" state shown by the dashed lines in fig. 2, all sensors or

switches

7, 8, 9 are first actuated in this case. If the operator then moves the rotary catch 3 in the clockwise direction shown until the locking pawl engages into the pre-locking portion 3a of the rotary catch 3, the rotary catch sensor or rotary catch switch 7 remains activated during this time, as does the further rotary catch sensor or further rotary catch switch 9. The pawl sensor or pawl switch 8 is switched and reaches the open position of the associated pawl switch 8, which then directly initiates the tensioning process ("ringing start").

After the tensioning process has started, the pawl 4 is pushed out of the preliminary locking section 3a of the rotary latch 3, so that the pawl switch 8 is closed again. At the transition from the preliminary locking portion 3a to the main locking portion 3b, the rotary latch fork switch 7 is simultaneously open, since it leaves the contour of the rotary latch fork 3 acting on the rotary latch fork switch 7. While the other rotary fork sensor 9 is still activated by a projection 11 provided on the adjusting device 6. In fact, during said tensioning, the adjusting device 6 moves to the left in the direction of the motorized drive 5.

Then, the tightening process causes the locking pawl 4 to fall into the main locking portion 3b of the rotary lock fork 3. Correspondingly, the drive sensor or drive switch 9 is opened. As a result, the tensioning process can be ended after the main locking position HR has been reached ("ringing stop"). The rotary-lock fork switch 7 is still open. Upon reaching the main latching portion 3b, the pawl switch 8 transitions from its previously acquired actuated state to an open state because the pawl 4 falls into the main latching portion 3b of the rotary latch fork 3.

List of reference numerals:

1 Motor vehicle door

2 Motor vehicle body

3 rotating lock fork

3a prelock

4 locking pawl

5 drive device

6 adjusting part

7 rotating lock fork sensor

8 locking pawl sensor

9 drive sensor

10 control unit

11 projection

VR Pre-lock position

HR master lock position

Claims

1. A motor vehicle lock having: a locking mechanism (3, 4) which mainly comprises a rotary lock fork (3) and a locking claw (4); a motorized drive means (5) for opening/closing the locking mechanism (3, 4); sensor unit (7, 8, 9) for a locking mechanism (3, 4), comprising a rotary fork sensor (7) and a pawl sensor (8) which are connected to a common control unit (10) for evaluation,

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

the sensor unit (7, 8, 9) also comprises a further rotary latch fork sensor (9) which is evaluated by a control unit (10).

2. Motor vehicle lock according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive means sensor (9) is adapted to detect the movement stroke of the drive means (5).

3. Motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the travel of the drive means (5) corresponds to the clearance of the door leaf (1) with respect to the vehicle body (2).

4. Motor vehicle lock according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the three sensors (7, 8, 9) acquire a plurality of different combined functional states (A, B, C and D) at the beginning of the opening/closing process and during the opening/closing process.

5. Motor vehicle lock according to claim 4, characterized in that the combined functional states (A, B, C and D) of the three sensors (7, 8, 9) during the opening/closing process are all different from the respective combined functional state (E, F) in the "open" state or the "closed" state.

6. Motor vehicle lock according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that each sensor (7, 8, 9) is capable of acquiring at least two different individual functional states, for example in the form of "1" and "0".

7. Motor vehicle lock according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that three sensors (7, 8, 9) correspond in combination to a total of eight different combined functional states (A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H).

8. Motor vehicle lock according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the sensors (7, 8, 9) are each a switch (7, 8, 9), in particular a microswitch.

9. Motor vehicle lock according to any of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the motorized drive means (5) is a tensioning drive means (5).

10. A motor vehicle hatch, in particular a motor vehicle door, preferably a motor vehicle side door, having a door leaf (1) equipped with a motor vehicle lock according to one of claims 1 to 9.