EP0017515B1 - Automatic moving and locking device, especially for the rear-door of a motor vehicle - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a device for automatically operating and locking a remote trunk door or the tailgate of a motor vehicle.

The US patent 3,713,472 describes a device for operating a tailgate which uses a drive motor of a toothed wheel which jointly ensures the movement of the tailgate and the control of the locking or unlocking lock. For this purpose the toothed wheel jointly actuates the movement of the levers and arms for holding the tailgate and the control of the lock by means of a flexible cable.

The invention provides an operating and locking device in which the locking and unlocking process is dissociated from the movement of the tailgate, with the aim of releasing the latter from any effort during the action of the lock.

It is in fact advantageous to centralize the efforts to control the opening or closing of the tailgate on the locking and unlocking mechanism when the latter is actuated in order to preserve it from parasitic stresses liable to affect its good operation.

To this end, the subject of the invention is an automatic maneuvering and locking device for a tailgate of a motor vehicle articulated at the upper part of the body, actuated by means of an electric motor mounted on a plate inside the safe and remotely controlled to ensure on the one hand the opening and closing of the tailgate by means of a pinion meshing with a toothing carried by an element acting on mechanical connecting means articulated between the tailgate and the element and on the other hand the locking and unlocking of the tailgate lock with respect to the rear fixed part of the bodywork, characterized in that it comprises two adjacent toothed sectors and of the same radius, pivotally mounted around a common axis integral with the plate and being able to be successively driven by the output pinion of the motor, in that the plate comprises two parallel curvilinear slots, angularly offset and of unequal lengths, in that the first sector, connected to the tailgate by means of an articulated tie rod, comprises a pin passing through both the curvilinear light of the plate and another curvilinear light practiced in the sector and superimposable on the light, in that the second sector, assigned to the locking of the tailgate which follows its closure, comprises a pin passing through the light of the plate and intercepting a fork fixed on a cable controlling the lock of the tailgate and in that the teeth of the first sector are provided with an interruption of toothing practiced at the periphery said sector, one end of the curvilinear lumen of the second sector engaging the pin of the first sector driving the latter and thus ensuring the resumption with the pinion of the toothing, the other end of the light being disposed at such a distance from the first end that the second sector can still rotate after immobilization of the first sector thus allowing respectively unlocking or locking tooling of the tailgate lock at rest of the latter.

The locking means of the tailgate after its closing consist essentially of a second toothed sector, adjacent and parallel to the first sector, and pivoting with it around a common axis secured to a support plate. After immobilization of the first sector, the motor continues to drive the second sector in rotation, which causes, after appropriate movement transformation, the rectilinear movement of a cable sliding in a sheath. The end of the cable rotates a hook-shaped bolt, secured to the boot, to lock a keeper fixed on the tailgate.

The electric motor can be controlled remotely in the direction appropriate for opening or closing the tailgate either from inside the vehicle or from the outside by means of a boot key. An additional switch, located in the boot, enables the interior control to be deactivated so that, on request, it can continue to isolate the boot lock from that of the side doors, an anti-theft security measure used on most vehicles.

The mechanism for operating the tailgate by an articulated tie rod is mounted on one side of the vehicle, the other side retaining a balancer of the conventional type, for example telescopic. However, the compensation exerted by the remaining balancer makes it possible to significantly limit the required power of the engine. In practice, a window regulator motor is sufficient to activate the locking cable and cause the liftgate to be lifted by the pivoting of the toothed sectors.

• - la figure 1 montre en coupe le dispositif selon l'invention appliqué au hayon d'un véhicule automobile;
• - les figures 2, 3 et 4 représentent diverses séquences du mécanisme de manoeuvre, vu dans le plan de la figure 1, respectivement pour les positions ouverte, fermée et verrouillée du hayon;
• - la figure 5 montre l'articulation du tirant suivant la coupe V de la figure 2;
• - la figure 6 est une coupe du mécanisme suivant la ligne VI de la figure 2;
• - la figure 7 est une coupe suivant la ligne VII de la figure 4;
• - la figure 8 représente le mécanisme de verrouillage, vu dans le plan de la figure 1 ;
• - les figures 10 et 9 représentent le mécanisme de verrouillage suivant la flèche X de la figure 8, respectivement pour les états verrouillé et déverrouillé du hayon;
• - la figure 11 est un exemple de réalisation du circuit de commande du moteur électrique.

Other particular features of the invention will emerge from the following description of an embodiment given by way of example, with reference to the appended drawing in which:

• - Figure 1 shows in section the device according to the invention applied to the tailgate of a motor vehicle;
• - Figures 2, 3 and 4 show various sequences of the operating mechanism, seen in the plane of Figure 1, respectively for the open, closed and locked positions of the tailgate;
• - Figure 5 shows the articulation of the tie rod according to section V of Figure 2;
• - Figure 6 is a section of the mechanism along line VI of Figure 2;
• - Figure 7 is a section along line VII of Figure 4;
• - Figure 8 shows the locking mechanism, seen in the plane of Figure 1;
• - Figures 10 and 9 show the locking mechanism according to arrow X in Figure 8, respectively for the locked and unlocked states of the tailgate;
• - Figure 11 is an exemplary embodiment of the electric motor control circuit.

Referring to Figure 1, we recognize, in section, the rear of a motor vehicle equipped with a tailgate 1 pivoting at the top of the body around a transverse axis 2. The luggage compartment 3 is successively delimited by the tailgate 1 itself, the horizontal shelf 4 for separation between the trunk 3 and the passenger compartment 5, the rear face of the rear seat backs 6, the lower floor 7 and the trunk box formed by the rear skirt 8 and the side walls 9 of the bodywork (Figure 6).

According to the invention, the tailgate 1 can be maneuvered and locked automatically by means of a mechanism 10 with toothed sectors actuated by an electric motor 11 and acting successively on a tie rod 12 articulated between the tailgate and one of the toothed sectors and on a lock 13 locking the tailgate 1 on the box 8, 9 of the trunk.

FIG. 1 represents the device as a whole, the various driving members of the mechanism being grouped together on a plate 14 fixed inside the boot 3, against the vertical wall 9 of the box located on the right (direction of travel of the vehicle), in the example considered.

The section in FIG. 1 does not show the presence of a tailgate balancer of any type, for example telescopic, mounted on the left side of the bodywork, the well-known role of which consists in reducing the forces necessary for the operation and to compensate for the weight of the tailgate 1.

The plate 14, shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 and in FIG. 6, is mounted on the box 9 by fixing lugs 15 and supports a small electric motor 11 of low power, of the window regulator type, with the pinion output 16 drives two sectors 17, 18 toothed mounted pivoting on the plate about a common axis 19. The two sectors 17, 18 are adjacent, parallel to the plate 14 and of the same radius, so that the pinion 16 can drive in rotation simultaneously.

However, the curvilinear length of the teeth 20 of the first sector 17, assigned to the operation of the tailgate 1, is less than the curvilinear length of the teeth 21 of the second sector 18, assigned to the locking, so as to cause the locking of the tailgate after closing or vice versa to obtain the opening of the tailgate after unlocking.

The first sector 17, the furthest from the plate, has a pin 22 guided in a first curvilinear lumen 23 of the plate after having crossed the second sector 18 interposed between the first sector 17 and the plate 14. In order to be able to struggle relatively in the first sector, the second sector 18 itself has a curvilinear lumen 24 superimposable on the first lumen 23 of the plate but of shorter length. In addition, the second sector 18 also has a pin 25 guided through a second curvilinear lumen 26 of the plate, parallel to the first lumen 23 and of length suitable for the operation of the locking mechanism which will be described below.

Finally, the toothed sector 17, assigned to the anchor, is extended on a straight side by an arm 27, the end of which supports a ball joint 28 for the articulation of the tie rod 12 as shown in FIG. 5.

The locking of the tailgate 1 is obtained by means of a transformation then of a movement transmission from the plate 14 to the latch 13.

To this end, the lower part of the plate forms an elbow 29 (FIG. 7) supporting a sheath 30 in which a transmission cable 31 slides.

Furthermore, the lower elbow 29 of the plate is pierced with a longitudinal slot 32 crossed by a fork 33 with two branches, integral with the cable 31, and therefore capable of moving with it over the stroke determined by the length of the slot 32 (Figure 6) .The relative positions of the slot 32 and the second curvilinear light 26 of the plate as well as the trajectories of the fork 33 and the pin 25 of the locking sector are such that the fork can be moved by the pin engaging between the branches of the fork, which ensures the transformation of circular / rectilinear movement or vice versa, according to the directions of rotation of the motor 11.

To allow engagement or disengagement of the pin, the branches of the fork 33 are moreover unequal lengths (Figure 2). At the other end of the cable 31 (FIGS. 8 to 10), the rectilinear movement is used to actuate the lock 13 from a distance, consisting of a bolt 34 in the form of a hook, the pivoting of which locks a keeper 35.

The keeper, fixed element of the lock, is a simple buttonhole mounted on the lower part of the tailgate 1. The bolt 34 is articulated on a support 36 itself fixed on the lining of the rear skirt 8 of the bodywork. The nose of the hook 34, in cam profile, engages in the keeper 35 to lock the tailgate on the boot box. The hook is, moreover, returned to the unlocking position by a spiral spring 37 wound around the hinge pin 38 of the hook.

The transformation of rectilinear / circular movement is obtained by means of a link 39 articulated between the hook 34 and a tab 40 secured to the end of the cable 31.

This tab slides outside the sheath 30 in the same manner as the fork 33 previously described.

By way of example, the electrical control of the engine 11 can be shown diagrammatically by the circuit of FIG. 11. It simply shows that the engine can be triggered in the desired direction either by a switch 41 located in the passenger compartment, for example on the dashboard, or by an external switch 42 operated with a key 43 and mounted on the rear skirt 8 of the body (Figures 1 and 8).

In addition, a switch 44, located in the trunk and disposed on the control circuit from the passenger compartment, makes it possible to neutralize this last command 41 so as to keep only the external control 42. This provision, optional, makes it possible to avoid access to the boot 3 by the simple violation of the passenger compartment 5. Furthermore, the deletion of the command from the passenger compartment 41 is of no consequence for all cases where the user is in any case obliged to move to intervene himself in the boot 3.

• Nous partons de la position ouverte du hayon 1 (figure 2) pour laquelle les deux secteurs dentés 17, 18 se trouvent en position haute, en butée sur l'extrémité de la première limière 23 de la platine, par le pion 22 du premier secteur qui traverse successivement le deuxième secteur 18 puis la platine 14 (figure 6).

The device according to the invention operates as follows:

• We start from the open position of the tailgate 1 (Figure 2) for which the two toothed sectors 17, 18 are in the high position, in abutment on the end of the first bloodhole 23 of the plate, by the pin 22 of the first sector which successively crosses the second sector 18 then the plate 14 (Figure 6).

After controlling the geared motor 11 in the appropriate direction by one of the switches, described above, the output pinion 16 simultaneously meshes the two toothed sectors to rotate them to the position in FIG. 3 which corresponds to the closed tailgate, resting on its seal and driven by the articulated tie rod 12 on the operating sector 17.

Simultaneously, the pins 22, 25 of the two sectors move in their respective light of the plate while maintaining their relative angular deviation, compared to that of FIG. 2.

The operating sector 17 comes to a standstill as soon as the pinion 16 reaches the toothing interruption 45 separating said toothing 20 from the articulation arm 27. The travel of the first sector 17 corresponds substantially to the length of the first curvilinear lumen 23 of the plate, while the pin 25 of the second sector (locking) engages between the branches of the fork 33 placed on the path of the second curvilinear light of the plate. This position of the fork corresponds to the unlocking of the keeper 35, represented in FIG. 9, position maintained by the return spring 37 of the bolt.

The pinion 16 of the motor continues its rotation and continues the pivoting of the second sector 18 through its teeth 21 until it reaches the locking position of FIG. 4.

The light 24 of the second sector allows the latter to pivot over the entire stroke corresponding to the locking, despite the immobilization of the pin 22 of the first sector, while the pin 25 of the second sector 18 displaces the fork 33 and therefore the transmission cable 31 to rotate the hook 34 at a distance by constraining its spring 37 and thus bringing it into the locked position of FIG. 10.

The locking and then opening of the tailgate 1 reproduces the reverse stages of the operation of the mechanism after reversing the direction of rotation of the pinion 16. After unlocking the tailgate (FIG. 3), the toothing 20 of the operating sector 17 is facilitated by the locking sector 17 whose curvilinear light 24 drives the pin 22 of the first sector being in abutment.

The invention is not limited to the example of embodiment described, but includes simple technical equivalents.

Thus the transformations of successive movements could be obtained by belts or linkages instead of cable 31 and rod 39 or that the electrical controls can be multiplied, placed differently and call on more sophisticated circuits such as controls by electronic pulses and reversers.

Claims (5)

1. Device for actuation and automatic locking of the hatchback of an automobile, articulated at the upper portion (2) of the car body and operated by means of an electric motor (11) which is mounted on the plate (14) inside the trunk (3) and controlled from a distance to assure, on the one hand, the opening and closing of the hatchback by means of a pinion (16), engaging a gearing (20) which is carried by an element (17) acting upon mechanical connection means articulated between the hatchback and the element (17), and, on the other hand, the locking and unlocking of the lock (13) of the hatchback at the fixed rear portion (8) of the body; characterized in that it comprises two adjacent gear sections (17,18) of the same radius, mounted pivotably around a solid common axis (19) of the plate (14) and being capable of being driven by the exit pinion (16) of the motor (11); in that the plate comprises two parallel curved openings (23, 26), angularly displaced and of inequal length; in that the first sector (17) which is connected to the hatchback by means of an articulated tie beam (12), comprises a stud (22) traversing both the curved opening (23) of the plate and another curved opening (24) provided in the sector (18) and capable of being superimposed on the opening (23); in that the second sector (18), intended for locking the hatchback after closing, comprises a stud (25) traversing the opening (26) of the plate and intercepting a fork (33) fixed on a cable (31) which controls the lock (13) of the hatchback; and in that the gearing (20) of the first sector is provided with an interruption in the gearing (45) provided in the periphery of the said sector (17), with one end of the curved opening (24) of the second sector (18) engaging the stud (22) of the first sector (17), driving the latter and thus assuring the re-engagement with the pinion (16) of the gearing (20), with the other end of the opening (24) being arranged at such a distance from the first end that the second sector (18) can still turn after immobilizing of the first sector (17), which thus allows unlocking or locking of the lock (13) of the hatchback (1), respectively, in the resting position of the latter.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the movement of the hatchback is limited as to opening by the stud (22) of the fist sector (17), which comes to a stop in the curved opening (23) of the plate, and as to closing by the interruption in the gearing (45).

3. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the rotation of the second gear sector (18) is carried out by the motor (11) after immobilizing of the first sector (17) to move the fork (33) upon movement of the stud (25), and to cause sliding of the transmission cable (31) in a casing (30) fixed on the plate (14).

4. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the electric control circuit at a distance from the motor (11) comprises, on the one hand, an electric switch (41), positioned inside of the driver's compartment and, on the other hand, an electric switch (42) to be actuated from the outside of the car body by means of a key (43).

5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the electric control circuit of the motor (11) comprises in addition an electric switch (44), accessible from the inside of the trunk, capable of neutralizing the control instruction by the switch (41) positioned in the driver's compartment.

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