EP0430732B1 - Vehicle door opening control mechanism, and door fitted therewith - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a mechanism for controlling the opening of a motor vehicle door according to the preamble of claim 1 and to a door comprising such a mechanism. This mechanism is intended to electrically ensure the implementation of an electric lock associated with the door and further comprises a mechanical control making it possible to ensure the opening of the door in the event of a power failure.

We know that it is generally considered desirable, in particular for "high-end" vehicles, to ensure the opening of the doors of a vehicle by an electrically controlled lock. Such a lock can, in fact, be controlled remotely by means of a wave emitter, in particular of infrared waves, this remote control being able to act on one and / or the other of the opening functions and locking / unlocking the lock. However, in the event of an electrical breakdown on the vehicle or in the event of a breakdown on the transmitter, it must be possible to open the vehicle door and, therefore, ensure the unlocking function, on the one hand, and the opening, somewhere else. A lock of this type is, moreover, associated with a safety barrel which can be operated by means of a key, this barrel being capable of mechanically ensuring, from outside the vehicle, the locking / unlocking function of the lock. .

DE-B-1 093 697 shows a lock fulfilling these functions.

It is also known that it is desired to improve the aerodynamic performance of motor vehicle bodies in order to reduce the energy consumption due to the penetration into the air of moving vehicles. This research implies that the dropouts in the overall shape of the vehicle be reduced as much as possible and it therefore becomes desirable to be able to have a door handle which does not protrude in any way with respect to the wall of the door itself and which has, in the idle state, no offset relative to this wall. Since the operation of such a handle must be carried out by the hand of the vehicle user, this implies that the handle is formed of a movable element, which, in the state of rest, forms a continuity with the door wall but which is capable of being moved by the user to cause the operation of the lock. Such a movable element must also allow, when it is moved by the user, to pull the door manually energetically so that one can obtain the opening of said door when an accidental circumstance, such as freezing of the joints, for example, makes opening difficult.

The present invention aims to provide a door opening control mechanism capable of achieving both the above objectives.

The present invention therefore relates to a mechanism for controlling the opening of a door of a motor vehicle on which an electrically controlled lock is arranged, the lock comprising members suitable for ensuring, on the one hand, an opening function for which the keeper secured to the body of the vehicle is released from the bolt of the lock, on the other hand, a locking function which inhibits said opening function and, finally, a unlocking function which eliminates, either electrically or mechanically, the state created by the previous function, the opening function being able to be controlled mechanically or electrically, this mechanism comprising a mobile element that can be actuated by the user, said element controlling in its movement an electric or electronic member, the operation of which triggers the opening function of the lock, the movement of said mobile element controlling, in addition, mechanically mechanical connection means which act on the member mechanically ensuring the opening function of the lock and trigger said opening, when the movable element arrives in the vicinity of the end of its travel, characterized in that the movable element comprises a plate comprising an axis allowing the pivoting of the plate relative to the door, and that the pivot axis of the plate is mechanically linked to the lock member, the operation of which ensures the opening function , this mechanical connection being disengageable mechanically and / or electrically.

The electric or electronic member cooperates with a boss carried by the movable element in the vicinity of its pivot axis. It is advantageously possible to provide that the mobile element is disposed in a housing, which carries its pivot axis as well as the electrical or electronic member and which is assembled, by its front face, on the vehicle door, the plate flush with the face. front of the housing in its rest position and being brought back elastically to this position, the microswitch being actuated for a pivoting angle of the plate which is small compared to the complete angular travel of the plate in the housing, the housing allowing a gripping manual when the plate is at the end of its angular travel.

It is clear that such a control mechanism ensures, by simply pressing the plate, the electric opening of the lock: there is therefore realized a "sensitive handle". In addition, to ensure safety in the event of a breakdown, mechanical opening control has been provided at the end of the circuit; given that the electric lock has a locking / unlocking function, if the lock is electrically locked, the mechanical link is released, which allows the door to open in the event of a breakdown. The mechanical disengagement of said link can be controlled by the rotor of a lock cylinder carried by the housing. The electrical disengagement of said link can be controlled by an electric actuator.

The control mechanism according to the invention makes it possible to reduce the dropouts and to improve the aerodynamics.

According to a particular embodiment of the above-mentioned disengageable connection, it is provided that the pivot axis of the plate causes a pivoting lever disposed outside the housing, a lever which, by a mechanical connection, comes to be assembled with a pivoting bracket of which the axis is carried by the housing, said bracket comprising a fork in which is disposed a first end of an arm ensuring the mechanical operation of a member controlling the opening function of the lock, said arm being able to pivot relative to said member that its first end escapes out of the fork of the bracket to ensure the disengagement of the connection. Preferably, the key entry of the lock barrel carried by the casing is on the front face of said casing, the end of the barrel, which is opposite to the key entry, driving, by the barrel rotor, a fork. pivoting, the axis of which is carried by the housing and between the two teeth of which is arranged, with play, the arm which connects the lock and the fork; this same arm can be ordered with play by the electric actuator, which ensures the disengagement.

It is possible to ensure that the electric actuator receives a disengaging instruction when the lock receives a locking instruction and, conversely, a clutch instruction when the lock receives a unlocking instruction.

In known manner, the control of the lock can be carried out remotely by emission of waves and that of the actuator can be carried out in the same way; one can foresee that the key of the barrel carries two infrared emitters, one to control the function opening of the lock, this one, for safety reasons, being able to be effective only vehicle stopped, the other to control the function locking / unlocking and declutching / clutching, respectively on the lock and the electric actuator.

The electrical or electronic component which is controlled by the mobile element which can be actuated by the user can be a microswitch.

The present invention also relates to a vehicle door comprising an opening control mechanism as defined above.

To better understand the object of the invention, we will now describe, by way of purely illustrative and non-limiting example, an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawing.

• la figure 1 représente, en perspective schématique, les différents éléments d'un mécanisme de commande d'ouverture selon l'invention ;
• la figure 2 représente une vue en élévation de la face frontale du boîtier du mécanisme, dont les différents éléments sont représentés sur la figure 1 ;
• les figures 3A à 3C représentent des coupes selon III-III de la figure 2, la figure 3A montrant l'élément mobile dans sa position de repos, la figure 3B montrant l'élément mobile dans la position de commande d'ouverture électrique et la figure 3C montrant l'élément mobile dans la position d'ouverture mécanique de la serrure.

On this drawing :

• Figure 1 shows, in schematic perspective, the different elements of an opening control mechanism according to the invention;
• FIG. 2 represents an elevation view of the front face of the mechanism housing, the different elements of which are represented on the figure 1 ;
• FIGS. 3A to 3C represent sections along III-III of FIG. 2, FIG. 3A showing the movable element in its rest position, FIG. 3B showing the movable element in the electric opening control position and the Figure 3C showing the movable member in the mechanical open position of the lock.

Referring to the drawing, we see that we have designated by 1 the sheet metal of a motor vehicle door and by 2, as a whole, a box in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, which is assembled on the sheet 1 so that its front face is exactly in the extension of the sheet 1. To do this, the housing has a flange 3 which is applied on a rebate provided in the sheet 1 over the entire periphery of the recess which receives the housing.

The housing 2 has on its front face 4 a mobile element designated by 5 as a whole. The movable element 5 comprises a plate 6 secured to an articulation sleeve 7. The sleeve 7 surrounds an articulation axis 8 which is carried by the housing. On the vehicle, the axis 8 is arranged in a vertical plane parallel to the mean plane of the sheet 1 in the attachment zone of the housing. The plate 6 has, on its edge parallel to the axis 8 and the furthest from said axis, a rebate showing a protruding tongue 6 a on the side of the interior of the housing. The plate 6 is elastically pushed by a spring 9 in the direction of its rest position which is that in which the tongue 6 has abuts against the inside of the front face 4 of the housing: in this position, the plate 6 does not have no offset from the front face 4 and the sheet 1.

An opening control handle has thus been produced, which fits perfectly into the general shape of the vehicle and which improves the aerodynamic performance of the bodywork. However, furthermore, since the box 2 does not have any bulky mechanism, it is possible to make this box so that its thickness is small, which makes it possible to bring the door window towards the outside of the vehicle and which further contributes to the aerodynamic improvement of the bodywork.

The user can, by pressing the plate 6, rotate it by a greater or lesser angle as it appears in FIGS. 3 A to 3 C. Maximum pivoting is obtained when the plate 6 comes close to the bottom 10 of the housing. In this position, the part of the front face 4 of the housing which initially supported the support of the tongue 6 a is projecting and the user can engage his fingers behind this projection, inside the housing, this which gives it a very strong grip in order to be able to exert a significant traction towards the outside, in the event that the opening of the door would be made very difficult, for example in the case where the door seals would have stuck on the bodywork by the freeze. It can therefore be seen that the device according to the invention makes it possible to ensure opening even in this incident situation.

On the sleeve 7 of the movable element 5, a boss 11 has been formed, which protrudes relative to the sleeve 7. This boss cooperates with a microswitch 12, which is connected by an electrical connection 13 to an electronic unit 14 itself even connected by an electrical connection 15 to the electric lock 16 mounted on the door, where the housing 2 is installed. The electric lock 16 can be of any known type. Generally, it includes a bolt in form of fork and a bolt retaining pawl, the strike which cooperates with such a bolt being fixedly mounted on the vehicle body and constituting a cylindrical projection which penetrates between the two teeth of the fork of the bolt. The opening of the lock 16 is capable of being controlled mechanically by action on a member 17 comprising a return square, member which is capable of translation in a slot 18 of the housing of the lock.

The axis 8 of the housing crosses the upper face 19 of said housing and controls, outside the housing, a pivoting lever 20, the end of which is connected to a rod 21 ensuring the mechanical connection with a pivoting bracket 22. The pivot 23 of the pivoting bracket 22 is carried by the bottom 10 of the housing. That of the branches of the bracket 22, which is not connected to the connecting rod 21, is constituted by a fork designated by 24 as a whole. The fork 24 has two parallel teeth, one 24 a being of greater length than the other 24 b , the tooth 24 b being arranged at a level lower than that of the tooth 24 a . The fork 24 provides the mechanical connection with an arm 25 whose upper end is bent, and enters between the two teeth 24 a , 24 b and whose lower end, also bent, enters the square return of the organ 17. It can therefore be seen that, according to this arrangement, the arm 25 is capable of pivoting around its lower end so that its upper end escapes the fork 24 when there is a pivoting to the right in FIG. 1 or returns between the teeth of the fork 24 when there is a pivoting in the opposite direction. A mechanical connection has thus been made between the axis 8 and the member 17, a connection which is disengageable according to the orientation which is given to the arm 25.

The housing 2 carries on its front face a lock barrel 26, which cooperates with a key 27. The key entry face of the barrel 26 is flush with the front face 4 of the housing 2. At the rear of the barrel 26, the rotor said barrel drives by a pin 28 a pivoting fork 29, the two teeth 30 a , 30 b of which are arranged perpendicular to the bottom 10 of the housing 2, on either side of the arm 25. The spacing between the teeth 30 a , 30 b corresponds to the necessary clearance of the arm 25 so that its end escapes the action of the fork 24, that is to say the tooth 24 b .

Below the housing 2 is arranged an actuator 31, which is an electric actuator whose piston 32 can take one or the other of two stable positions. The end of the piston 32 carries a ring 33 which surrounds the arm 25 with sufficient clearance to provide the arm 25 with an angular movement allowing it to escape the tooth 24 b of the fork 24.

The key 27 of the barrel is equipped with two infrared transmitters controlled respectively by the push buttons 34 and 35. The push button 34 sends an infrared emission, which is received by the electronic unit 14, which then generates a signal which it sends by the connection 15 on the lock 16 to cause the opening thereof. The push button 35 sends an infrared emission both to the electronic unit 14 and to the actuator 31. The electronic unit 14 generates a signal which it sends by the connection 15 to the lock 16 and which causes the locking or the unlocking the lock according to whether it is unlocked or locked. The same emission received by the actuator 31 causes the movement of the ring 33 to the right or to the left in FIG. 1 depending on whether the lock was previously in the unlocked or locked state.

The operation of the device which has just been described is as follows: when the user of the vehicle wants to open his door, he presses on the plate 6 to cause it to pivot into the position shown in FIG. 3B . At this moment, the microswitch 12 sends information to the electronic unit 14, which generates the transmission by connection 15 of a signal causing the electrical opening of the lock 16.

If the user leaves his vehicle, he closes the door by slamming it, which puts the lock in the closed position. He then presses the push-button 35, which sends an infrared emission to the housing 14. The housing 14 sends by the connection 15 a signal, which puts the lock 16 in the locked position. When the user wants to enter his vehicle again, he presses the push-button 35 again, which puts the lock 16 in the unlocked position. He can then either open the door by acting manually on the plate 6 or else open the door by acting on the push button 34.

When the user has put the lock 16 in the locking position by action on the push-button 35, the electrical control information of the lock is canceled by means of the electronic unit; on the other hand, the actuator 31 has pushed the arm 25 to the right in FIG. 1, which has disengaged the mechanical connection between the pivoting lever 20 and the member 17 which allows the mechanical opening of the lock: so, even if an intruder acts on the plate 6 by bringing it into the position corresponding to FIG. 3C , there can be no mechanical opening of the lock.

When the user, acting on the push button 35, has returned the lock to the position unlocking, the lock can again be actuated electrically; on the other hand, the actuator 31 has undergone a reverse movement to that which is previously indicated, which restores the clutch of the mechanical connection between the lever 20 and the member 17 and allows the emergency mechanical opening function .

In the event that the vehicle is subject to an electrical failure, it is of course necessary to mechanically ensure the opening of the door.

If the lock is in the unlocked position, the user need only act on the plate 6 by rotating it as much as shown in FIG. 3 C : in this case, the mechanical connection (20, 21, 22, 24 , 25, 17) causes the lock to open.

If the lock is, on the contrary, in the locked position, in this case, the user introduces his key 27 into the barrel 26 and rotates the rotor of said barrel to cause the rotation of the pivoting fork 29 about its axis 28; this rotation is carried out so as to bring the tooth 30b into contact with the arm 25 to push the end of the arm 25 between the teeth 24 a and 24 b of the fork 24. Thus restores the mechanical connection between the plate 6 and the member 17 which allows the opening of the door. If subsequently, the remaining power failure, the user wants to recondamble the lock 16, he operates the barrel 26 in the opposite direction to cause the rotation of the pivoting fork 29 in the opposite direction to the previous one; in this movement, the tooth 30 has pushed the arm 25 so that its end escapes the action of the fork 24 which re-establishes the disengagement of the emergency mechanical connection and therefore ensures the locking of the door by a purely mechanical path . This tilting of the arm 25 is possible without action on the actuator 31 given the play that cleans the ring 33 around the arm 25. After the locking action, the barrel 26 is brought back to the initial position in order to be able to extract the key, which is carried out without movement for the arm 25 since this return rotation brings back simply tooth 30 b in contact with arm 25.

When the actuator 31 moves its piston 32 to the right in FIG. 1 to ensure the disengagement of the emergency mechanical connection when the lock 16 is electrically established, the movement takes place without difficulty because because the arm 25 moves between the teeth 30 a and 30 b without causing any rotation of the pivoting fork 29. In fact, when the clutch is established, the arm 25 is in the vicinity of the tooth 30 a and, when it is pushed by the actuator 31, it comes in the vicinity of the tooth 30 b , this for the rest position of the pivoting fork 29, that is to say for the rest position of the rotor of the barrel 26.

Claims (13)

1. Opening control mechanism for a motor vehicle door on which there is arranged an electrically controlled lock (16), the lock (16) including suitable devices to provide, on the one hand, an opening function in which the keeper rigidly connected to the body of the vehicle is liberated from the striker of the lock, and on the other hand a blocking function which prevents the said opening function and, finally, an unblocking function which counters, either by electrical or mechanical means, the state produced by the preceding function, the opening function being able to be controlled mechanically or electrically, the mechanism including a movable element (5) that can be actuated by the user, the said element (5) controlling in its movement an electrical or electronic device (12), the operation of which initiates the opening function of the lock (16), the movement of the said movable element (5) in addition mechanically controlling mechanical connecting means (20, 21, 22, 24, 25) which act on the member (17) mechanically providing the opening function of the lock (16) and initiate the said opening, when the movable element (5) approaches the end of its travel, characterised in that the movable element (5) has a plate (6) with a pin (8) allowing the plate (6) to pivot with respect to the door, and in that the pivot pin (8) of the plate (6) is mechanically linked to the member (17) of the lock (16), the operation of which provides the opening function, the said mechanical linkage being mechanically and/or electrically disengageable.
2. Mechanism according to Claim 1, characterised in that the electrical or electronic device (12) co-operates with a projection (11) carried by the movable element (5) in the vicinity of its pivot pin (8).
3. Mechanism according to Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the movable element (5) is arranged in a housing (2), which carries its pivot pin (8) and also the electrical or electronic device (12) and which is connected by its front face (4) to the door of the vehicle, the plate (6), in its rest position, being flush with the front face (4) of the housing (2) and being resiliently returned to that position, the microcontact (12) being actuated for a pivoting angle of the plate (6) which is small in relation to the complete angular travel of the plate (6) in the housing (2), the housing (2) allowing manual gripping when the plate (6) is at the end of its angular travel.
4. Mechanism according to one of the preceding Claims, characterised in that the mechanical disengagement of the linkage is controlled by the rotor of a lock barrel (26) carried by the housing (2).
5. Mechanism according to one of the preceding Claims, characterised in that the electrical disengagement of the linkage is controlled by an electrical actuating element (31).
6. Mechanism according to one of the preceding Claims, characterised in that the pivot pin (8) of the plate (6) drives a pivoted lever (20) arranged on the outside of the housing (2), which lever, by a mechanical linkage, is connected to a pivoted angle member (22), the pin (23) of which is carried by the housing (2), the said angle member (22) having a yoke (24) in which is arranged a first end of an arm (25) effecting the mechanical operation of the member (17), which mechanically controls the opening function of the lock (16), the said arm (25) being able to pivot with respect to the said member (17) so that its first end escapes from the yoke (24) of the angle member (22) to effect the disengagement of the linkage.
7. Mechanism according to Claims 4 and 6 taken simultaneously, characterised in that the key entry of the lock barrel (26) carried by the housing (2) is on the front face (4) of the said housing (2), the end of the barrel (26) opposed to that at which the key entry is located driving, by way of the rotor of the barrel (26), a pivoted fork (29), the pin (28) of which is carried by the housing (2) and between the two teeth (30a, 30b) of which is arranged, with a clearance, the arm (25) which connects the lock (16) and the yoke (24).
8. Mechanism according to either of Claims 6 and 7 taken in combination with Claim 4, characterised in that the arm (25) which connects the lock (16) and the yoke (24) is controlled, with a clearance, by the electrical actuating element (31), which effects the disengagement.
9. Mechanism according to either of Claims 5 and 8, characterised in that the electrical actuating element (31) receives a disengagement command when the lock (16) receives a blocking command and, conversely, an engagement command when the lock (16) receives an unblocking command.
10. Mechanism according to Claim 9, characterised in that the control of the lock (16) and of the actuating element (31) is effected remotely by emission of waves.
11. Mechanism according to Claims 9 and 10 taken simultaneously, characterised in that the key (27) of the barrel (26) carries two infra-red emitters, one to control the opening function of the lock, the other to control the blocking/unblocking and disengagement/engagement function, respectively, on the lock (16) and the electrical actuating element (31).
12. Mechanism according to one of the preceding Claims, characterised in that the electrical or electronic device controlled by the movable element (5) that can be actuated by the user is a microcontact.
13. Door of a motor vehicle having an opening control mechanism according to one of Claims 1 to 12.

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