EP0989263B1 - Electric lock with opening assistance for motor vehicle doors - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a lock for a motor vehicle door, in particular an automatic unlocking lock on opening, and more particularly an electric lock with an assistance to the opening and / or assisting the condemnation.

In opening-assisted electric locks, the opening mechanism of the lock is driven by a geared motor, an electromagnetic system or any other equivalent device which is incorporated in a sealed part of the lock housing, to isolate the locks. electrical components and gears of dust, water and any foreign body that could get into the lock, when using the vehicle. The electric opening assistance mechanism is generally controlled by the outside door opening handles or pallets which are equipped with a contactor, sensor, microswitch or any other detector which is connected by an electric cable to the device. assistance to the opening of the lock, to transmit the opening order. Since the outer pallets or handles are subjected to the weather, it is necessary to make the opening detectors, as well as their electrical cables and connectors completely sealed, which increases the cost of the lock.

The object of the invention is to provide an electric lock with assistance to the opening which minimizes the electrical connections as well as the sealing stresses, to reduce the cost of the lock.

To achieve the above mentioned object, the invention relates to an electric lock for a motor vehicle door, comprising a lock housing, a first said containment compartment contains a bolt adapted to retain a strike, and a locking pawl bolt in the retaining position of the striker, and a second compartment said kinematics sealingly contains a locking mechanism of the lock comprising a locking lever adapted to put the lock in the locked / unlocked position, and a mechanism of opening comprising an electric motor for opening assistance, adapted to drive an external opening lever for actuating the pawl towards its bolt release position, in response to an external opening command signal emitted by a contactor when an external control means, such as a handle or an outer pallet, is actuated by a characterized in that it comprises a mechanical means of external connection of which an outer portion is intended to be connected to the external control means and of which another inner portion extends into the second sealed compartment of the lock, said contactor external opening being disposed in said second sealed compartment in the path of said inner portion of the mechanical means of external connection, so as to emit an external opening control signal, when the mechanical connecting means is moved on a stroke of determined opening upon actuation of the external control means.

Thus, it removes all electrical connections between the outer handle of the door and the lock and it is no longer necessary to make the contactor sealed, because it is arranged in a lock compartment that is already sealed.

In a particular embodiment, the inner portion of the mechanical connection means is integral with a slider which is guided by a slideway inside the second sealed compartment, along the opening stroke of the mechanical connection means, and which is able to cooperate at the end of the opening stroke with the contactor, to trigger the emission of the opening control signal to the electric motor.

Advantageously, the lock of the invention is associated with a remote recognition system called "hands free" which is intended to supply the electric motor, when an authorized user has been identified by said recognition system, near the vehicle. Such a recognition system is known per se and consists in providing a badge provided with a transmitter carried by the user and a receiver implanted on the vehicle which controls the power supply of the vehicle when it receives a suitable coded signal transmitted by the badge. Thus, as soon as the authorized user actuates the outside door handle, the opening is triggered automatically, without necessarily having triggered before unlocking the lock. Indeed, the unlocking of the lock can be performed before, simultaneously or after opening electrically. Since the unlocking of the lock is not necessary to cause the opening of the lock from the outside, the opening can be performed more quickly. The fact that the prior unlocking of the lock is not necessary is not a disadvantage, because the direct opening of the lock can be performed only if an authorized user has been identified by the recognition system, otherwise the electric motor will not be powered, and thus the opening impossible.

Unlike known locks, where the action on the outer handle first causes the unlocking and then the opening, the lock of the invention has two kinematic parallel chains, one for the electrical opening, the other for the unlocking.

It will be noted that the opening stroke of the connection means for triggering the electrical opening can be low, for example of the order of 5 mm.

According to another preferred feature of the invention, the inner portion of the mechanical connection means comprises at its free end a tip adapted to rotate an emergency opening lever, in case of electrical failure or depletion of the battery of the vehicle, by displacement of said connecting means, under the action of the external control means, on an overtravel beyond the electric opening stroke, said emergency lever being able to move, when said overtravel, the outer opening lever, for the release of the bolt.

Advantageously, the emergency lever is subjected to a high stiffness return spring to its rest position, so that the user has to force the external control means to actuate the emergency lever, so that the The user does not need to operate the emergency lever unnecessarily when the power assist when it opens.

According to yet another preferred feature, the locking lever is adapted to put the aforementioned end of the connecting means, when the lock is locked, in a position where the tip escapes the emergency lever, regardless of the displacement of the means. link, and to put said tip, when the lock is unlocked, in a position where it cooperates with the emergency lever, during overtravel.

Advantageously, the connecting means is a flexible cable and the locking lever comprises an arm adapted to move the tip of the cable, to modify the path of the cable, so that said tip escapes the emergency lever, when the lock is locked. .

In a particular embodiment, the emergency lever comprises a fork between the branches of which passes the connecting cable, the spacing of the branches being smaller than the size of the tip, so that the latter can drive the emergency lever , in unlocked position of the lock. In this case, the branches of the fork may comprise at their free end a guide ramp for guiding the nozzle along the path of the cable in its escaped position, when the cable is moved under the action of the external control means.

According to yet another preferred feature, the lock comprises an automatic unlocking means at the opening comprising a first lever provided with a cam follower element arranged in the first retention compartment to cooperate with a cam profile provided on the bolt, and a second lever disposed in the second sealed compartment and adapted to cooperate with a stop provided on the locking lever, so that, when the bolt is rotated towards its open position, the cam profile causes a displacement of the cam. cam follower element and, consequently, the second lever which is integral in rotation of the first lever, to automatically bring the locking lever to its unlocking position.

In this case, the second lever of the unlocking means automatic opening is adapted to block, in the open position of the bolt, the stop of the locking lever, to prohibit the locking of the lock in the open door position.

The description given below, purely illustrative and non-limiting, of an embodiment will, with reference to the accompanying drawings, to better understand the invention.

• la figure 1 est une vue en perspective éclatée de la serrure conforme à l'invention, du côté de son compartiment de rétention ;
• la figure 2 est une vue analogue à la figure 1, mais partiellement assemblée ;
• la figure 3 est une vue de dessus de la figure 2, en position complètement assemblée de la serrure ;
• la figure 4 est une vue analogue à la figure 3, la contre-plaque étant omise ;
• la figure 5 est une vue en perspective éclatée de la serrure de l' invention, du côté de son compartiment de cinématique ;
• la figure 6 est une vue de dessus de la figure 5, le couvercle du compartiment de cinématique étant omis, et la serrure étant dans une position fermée et décondamnée ;
• la figure 7 est une vue analogue à la figure 6, mais représentant la serrure dans une position fermée et condamnée ;
• la figure 8 est une vue analogue à la figure 6, mais représentant la serrure dans une position ouverte et décondamnée, sous l'action du dispositif électrique d'assistance à l'ouverture ; et
• la figure 9 est une vue analogue à la figure 8, la serrure étant également en position ouverture et décondamnée, sous l'action du moyen mécanique de secours à l'ouverture.

On this drawing :

• Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of the lock according to the invention, on the side of its retention compartment;
• Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, but partially assembled;
• Figure 3 is a top view of Figure 2, in the fully assembled position of the lock;
• Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, the against-plate being omitted;
• Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of the lock of the invention, the side of its kinematic compartment;
• Figure 6 is a top view of Figure 5, the cover of the kinematic compartment being omitted, and the lock being in a closed position and unlocked;
• Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6, but showing the lock in a closed position and locked;
• Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 6, but showing the lock in an open position and unlocked under the action of the electric device for assistance in the opening; and
• Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 8, the lock is also in the open position and unlocked, under the action of the mechanical means at the opening.

Referring to Figure 1, the lock of the invention comprises a lock housing B, for example, made of plastic material and a metal counterplate 1 substantially square-shaped and having an opening 2 for the passage of a keeper (not shown) which is fixed, in a manner known per se, to a vertical upright of the chassis of a motor vehicle. Against the plate 1 has a substantially L profile with the longer wing 1a extending in the transverse direction of the vehicle, door closed position, and whose smallest cross 1b extends in the direction longitudinal of the vehicle.

As shown in Figure 1, the housing B has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape whose largest dimension extends substantially in the vertical direction of the door. The housing B has a first compartment 3 called retention, because it contains a bolt fork 4 adapted to retain the striker and a pawl 5 to lock the bolt 4 in the retaining position of the striker. The retention compartment 3 has a recess 6 forming the drain of the lock, to accommodate the striker, in the closed position of the door. The compartment 3 is closed by the counter-plate 1 which is the part of the lock which is flush with the level of the door edge. The bolt 4 and the pawl 5 are respectively hinged to the ends of shaft 7 and 8 which are interposed between the bottom of the compartment 3 and the part 1a of the plate 1 against.

The retention compartment 3 further comprises a lever external opening 9 which is hinged to a cylindrical sleeve 10 on the bottom of the compartment 3, the external opening lever 9 having an arm 9a extending substantially radially to to cooperate with a finger 5a of the pawl 5. the external opening lever 9 comprises a square section passage 9 b in alignment with the axis of the cylindrical sleeve 10, to make it rotate with a lever command 11 which will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

The pawl 5 further comprises a protruding pin 5b intended to be connected to a rod or a cable (not shown) for its connection to a door handle or inner pallet.

As best seen in Figures 1 and 4, a slot 12 is formed through the bottom of the compartment 3 in the vicinity of the periphery of the bolt 4. Inside this light 12, is pivotable a lever 13 provided with its free end of a projecting piece 13 a which forms a cam follower element in contact with a peripheral portion 4a on the circumference of the bolt, said peripheral portion 4a forming a cam profile whose radius of curvature is adapted to cause the displacement of the pin 13a, upon rotation of the bolt 4 between its closed position illustrated in figures 1 to 4 and its open position (not shown) rotates in a counterclockwise direction.

A door open switch 14 is mounted on the compartment of the base 3 near the projecting piece 13 a of the lever 13 so that at the end of pivoting travel of the bolt 4 into its open position, the pin 13 has come a push button 14a of the switch 14 for initiating the transmission of a door open signal.

Manner known per se, the hood 6 has an elastic leg 6a which is intended to cushion the entry of the striker plate in the hood.

Reference will now be made to FIG. 5 to describe the components of a second so-called kinematic compartment 15 of lock housing B. This second compartment 15 is sealed from compartment 3 by a partition which forms the bottom common to two compartments.

The control lever 11 includes a stub shaft 11a which perpendicularly projecting towards the bottom of compartment 15 and which is inserted through the cylindrical sleeve 10 of the first compartment 3, the stub shaft 11 has provided at its free end a square section to be embedded in the corresponding square section opening 9b of the outer opening lever 9, for their integral rotation.

The second compartment 15 contains a first electric motor 16 on the motor shaft of which is coaxially mounted a first pinion 17 which meshes with a pinion of larger diameter. 18 which is coaxially fixed in rotation with a worm 19. The assembly 16 to 19 forms a geared motor group which is carried by support bearings 20, 21, which are anchored on the bottom of the compartment 15. The worm 19 meshes with the circumference of a toothed wheel 22 which has on its upper face a stub axle 22 is intended to be inserted in a suitable housing in the cover (not shown) for closing the second compartment 15. with its underside, the gear 22 is connected to a plate 23 by two crank pins 24, 25 diametrically opposed with respect to the axis of rotation of the wheel 22. the plate 23 further comprises a finger 23 is perpendicularly projecting with respect to its plane and coming to be recessed in the lower face of the wheel 22. This finger 23 a is radially further out than the crank pins 24 and 25. Although this is not visible in Figure 5, the wafer 23 has on its underside a piece of a xe aligned with the stub shaft 22 a of the wheel 22 and designed to be inserted in a suitable housing 26 in the bottom of the compartment 15.

One of said two crank pins, namely the pin 24 furthest from the finger 23a of the wafer 23 is intended to cooperate with an arm 11b of the control lever 11 for rotating at the rotation of the wheel 22. The rotation of the control lever 11 simultaneously causes the rotation of the outer opening lever 9 in the retention compartment 3, to move the pawl 5 to the release position of the bolt. Rotation of the wheel 22 continues until the finger 23a of the wafer 23 comes into contact with an elastic stop limit switch 27 provided on the bottom of the compartment 15. This stop 27 is advantageously made of rubber, for cushion the finger support formatting 23a against the stop 27, because the drive motor 16 is relatively strong.

Although this is not shown, the control lever 11 is subjected to a return spring, to return the control lever 11 to its initial position, once the geared motor unit has itself returned to its original position. initial position as it will be explained further. A rubber stop 28 may also be provided in the compartment 15 to damp the return of the control lever 11 towards its rest position, as can be seen in FIGS. 6 to 9.

The control lever 11 comprises at the free end of another arm, extending substantially in the opposite direction to the arm 11b , a pin 30 for cooperating with a downward curved tab 31 provided at the free end of an arm of an emergency lever 32. The emergency lever 32 is pivotally mounted on a shaft end 33 projecting from the bottom of the compartment 15 and comprises at the free end of another arm 34, arranged substantially in a direction opposite to the arm carrying the folded tab 31, a fork 35 whose two branches are provided at their free end with a guide ramp 35 a .

As can be seen in FIG. 6, a cable C passes between the branches of the fork 35 and has at its free end a tip 36 which has a substantially spherical shape whose diameter is greater than the spacing of the branches of the fork 35, so as to be able to cause the pivoting of the emergency lever 32 about its axis 33, by pulling on the cable C, from an external control means, for example an external door handle or pallet. The cable C is integral with a slider 37 arranged on the other side of the fork 35, with respect to the end piece 36. The slider 37 may advantageously be overmolded on the cable C. Two parallel guide rails 38, 39 are arranged on the bottom of the compartment 15 to serve to guide the cursor 37 during the movement of the cable C. The cable C extends outside the housing B, sealingly passing through a sleeve 40.

The kinematics compartment 15 further comprises a locking lever 41 which is articulated on a shaft end 42 projecting from the bottom of the compartment 15. The locking lever 41 comprises a first arm 43 provided at its free end with a pin 43a which engages in a helical groove 44a formed on a rotary drum 44. This rotary drum 44 is intended to be connected to a lock cylinder for a front door. The locking lever 41 comprises a second arm 45 extending substantially radially outwardly of the housing B, through an opening 46.

The locking lever 41 comprises a third arm 47 which is intended to cooperate with the tip 36 of the cable C, to escape the fork 35, as shown in Figure 7. In the rest position of the cable C, the tip 36 is located in a recess of the locking lever 41 defined between the first arm 43 and the third arm 47.

The locking lever 41 further comprises a toothed sector 48 which is extended at one end by a protruding stop 49. The toothed sector 48 meshes with a pinion 50 carried by the drive shaft 51 of a second electric motor 52 for electric assistance to conviction / unlocking. The second electric motor 52 is carried by a substantially C-shaped profile support piece 53 which is mounted on the bottom of the compartment 15.

The stop 49 of the locking lever 41 is intended to cooperate with a second lever comprising an arm 54 extending radially from a shaft 55 which is mounted in a tubular sleeve 56 which protrudes from the bottom of the compartment 15. tree 55 crosses; in a sealed manner, the bottom of the compartment 15 and has at its lower end a square section to be secured in rotation of the lever 13 above.

Along the rail 39, is arranged an external opening contactor 60 which comprises a button 60 is adapted to be pushed by an inclined portion 37 a of the slider 37, during the traction of the cable C, for sending a control signal to opening to the first motor 16, by an electrical connection not shown.

For example, one could alternatively provide an outside door handle linked by a rod to a link articulated in the sealed compartment of the lock, the outer opening switch being arranged to detect the pivoting of the link.

The operation of the lock of the invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9.

In the position illustrated in Figure 6, the lock is in its closed state and mechanically uncondensed. Indeed, the locking lever 41 is in a position where its arm 47 has placed the tip 36 of the cable C in front of the fork 35 of the emergency lever 32, which allows a mechanical opening, pulling on the cable C , as explained later.

In this locking position of the lock, we see in Figure 4 that one of the fork legs of the bolt 4 is blocked by a beak of the pawl 5, to retain a striker not shown.

• soit il se trouve à l'intérieur de l'habitacle du véhicule et il actionne un organe de manoeuvre situé sur l'intérieur de la portière pour commander le déplacement du bras 45 du levier de condamnation 41;
• soit l'utilisateur se trouve à l'extérieur du véhicule et il condamne la serrure avec sa clé en l'introduisant dans le barillet de serrure d'une portière avant pour entraîner, par l'intermédiaire du tonneau 44, le déplacement du bras 43 du levier de condamnation ;
• soit, enfin, de l'extérieur du véhicule, il actionne un boîtier de télécommande portatif pour envoyer un signal de commande de condamnation au moteur électrique 52 d'assistance à la condamnation, lequel moteur 52 entraîne le pivotement du levier de condamnation 41, en agissant sur le secteur denté 48.

From the position shown in Figure 6, when the user wishes to condemn the lock, several possibilities are available to him:

• either it is inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle and it actuates an operating member located on the inside of the door to control the movement of the arm 45 of the locking lever 41;
• either the user is outside the vehicle and he condemns the lock with his key by inserting it into the lock cylinder of a front door to drive, through the barrel 44, the movement of the arm 43 the judgment lever;
• or, finally, from the outside of the vehicle, it actuates a portable remote control unit to send a control command signal to the electric motor 52 assisting the judgment, which motor 52 drives the pivoting of the locking lever 41, acting on the toothed sector 48.

Whatever the means for controlling the locking of the lock, the locking lever 41 pivots in the counter-clockwise direction, as illustrated in FIG. 7. In this figure, the lock is in its closed and mechanically condemned state, since the arm 47 of the locking lever 41 pushed the end piece 36 of the cable C in a direction substantially perpendicular to the actuating stroke of the cable C, so as to escape the end piece 36 from the fork 35 of the emergency lever 32 . Thus, if an unauthorized person actuates the bottom external handle for driving the cable C, the flange 36 will slide along the arm 47 and the guide rail 35a of the fork 35, without driving the lever 32, the lock does not thus being able to be mechanically unlocked from the outside. When moving the cable C under the action of the outer door handle, the slider 37 connected to the cable C will move along the guide rails 38 and 39 and will come by its inclined portion 37 to push the switch button 60 a of the external opening contactor 60, but as the general power supply of the vehicle has not been activated, the electric motor 16 for opening assistance will remain inactive, thus also prohibiting the electric opening.

It can be seen in FIG. 7 that in the locked position of the lock, the stop pin 49 of the locking lever 41 comes into contact with the arm 54 of the automatic unlocking means at the opening.

When the user wishes to return to the position of Figure 6, it actuates one of the aforementioned control means to rotate the locking lever 41 in the clockwise direction of Figure 7 to Figure 6. In this case, the end piece 36 of cable C follows the pivoting of arm 47 of locking lever 41, since it is recalled by the inherent resilience of cable C in its rest position shown in FIG.

We will now describe the passage of the lock from its unlocked closed position shown in Figure 6 to its open position, thanks to the electrical device for opening assistance, in Figure 8. Thus, when the user grasps the handle outer door and actuates slightly, the cable C moves on a short stroke, as illustrated between Figures 6 and 8. At the end of the actuating stroke of the cable C, the tip 36 of the cable comes at most in contact with the fork 35 of the emergency lever, without actuating the latter. The slider 37 which is secured to the cable C moves from a corresponding stroke and the retract button 60 has a contactor 60. As the general power supply of the vehicle has been previously energized by the recognition system, the contactor 60 can send an opening control signal to the electric motor 16 which causes the wheel 22 to rotate in a clockwise direction. During the rotation of the wheel 22, the crankpin 24 abuts against the arm 11b of the control lever 11 and pushes it back, so as to pivot the control lever 11 in the counter-clockwise direction in FIG. The crankpin 24 pushes the arm 11b of the control lever 11 until that the finger 23 has come to bear against the elastic end stop 27.

The pivoting of the control lever 11 causes the pivoting of the outer opening lever 9 in the retention compartment 3, in the clockwise direction in FIG. 4. During its pivoting, the external opening lever 9 comes to push back by its arm 9 has the finger 5a of the pawl 5 to pivot in the anticlockwise direction the pawl 5, which thus frees the bolt 4 which can rotate, in turn, in the anti-clockwise to release the striker.

When the finger 23 has bears against the stop 27, the pawl 5 has released the bolt 4.

The driving torque exerted by the motor 16 will be maintained for a period determined by a delay, to ensure that the crankpin 24 drives the pivoting of the control lever 11. As soon as the drive by the motor 16 stops, the screw endless 19 will be returned in rotation in the opposite direction, by a spiral spring (not shown), to bring the wheel 22 and thus, the crank pins 24 and 25 in their initial positions, to allow subsequent opening. The spiral spring is connected to the worm 19 and is wound during the drive by the motor 16. Advantageously, the spiral return spring for the worm 19 is arranged in the bearing 20. In this configuration , the control lever 11 returns to its rest position under the action of a return spring not shown.

Referring again to Figure 4, when the bolt 4 is pivoted in the counterclockwise direction to release the latch, the cam follower pin 13a of the lever 13 follows the cam profile 4a of the bolt 4, which causes pivoting the lever 13 clockwise in Figure 4. Substantially at the end of pivoting travel of the bolt 4, the pin 13a of the lever 13 pushes back the button 14a of the switch 14 to signal door open to a central unit of treatment the opening of the door. The pivoting of the lever 13 causes the arm 54 to pivot simultaneously in the kinematic compartment 15 in the counterclockwise direction, as shown in FIG. 8, to bring the arm 54 of this lever into contact with the stop 49 of the locking lever. 41.

Thus, it is not possible to condemn the lock, while the door is open, because any pivoting of the locking lever 41 in the counterclockwise direction is prevented by the arm 54 which is locked in position by the lever 13 of which the cam follower pin 13a abuts against the cam 4a of the bolt 4.

The electrical assistance device for opening functions in the same way from the position of FIG. 7, in which the lock is in its closed and mechanically condemned state. For this purpose, the authorized user wearing a badge equipped with a transmitter to emit a given coded signal, approaches the vehicle which is equipped with a recognition system comprising a receiver capable of decoding the signal and powering on. the power supply to the vehicle, where the authorized user has been duly identified. When the user pulls on the cable C on a short stroke to trigger the emission of an opening command signal by the contactor 60, the electric motor 16 causes the opening of the lock, and the bolt 4 by its cam 4a causes pivoting in the anti-clockwise direction of the arm 54 to push the abutment piece 49 of the locking lever 41, rotating it clockwise, to bring it into an unlocked position. In other words, from FIG. 6 or FIG. 7, the same position shown in FIG. 8 is reached when the assistance device for opening is activated. This results in automatic unlocking on opening when the external control means are actuated. This is made possible by dissociating the two kinematic chains from the opening mechanism and the locking mechanism.

The contactor 60 sends a control signal simultaneously to the motor 16 and the motor 52, to simultaneously cause assistance in opening the door and unlocking the other doors.

Finally, if the opening assistance device does not work, due to a power failure or insufficient power supply of the vehicle battery, the user can mechanically open the lock after having mechanically unlocked it, for example, by the lock cylinder, pulling the cable C overtravel, to drive through the tip 36 the fork 35 of the emergency lever 32 which pivots clockwise in Figure 9 and is pushed by the curved tab 31 of its arm opposite the pin 30 of the control lever 11, to rotate it in the counterclockwise direction, resulting in the pivoting of the lever of 9 external opening, and consequently, the release of the bolt. Similarly, the arm 54 comes into contact with the stop 49 of the locking lever 41, due to cooperation between the cam 4a of the bolt 4 and the cam follower pin 13a of the lever 13.

It should be noted that the crankpin 25 shown in FIG. 5 does not have any particular utility here.

The electric motor 52 is reversible, in order to rotate the locking lever 41 in both directions, to bring it respectively into its locked or unlocked position.

The motor shaft 51 of the electric motor 52 has its axis of rotation parallel to the axis of pivoting of the locking lever 41, while the motor shaft of the electric motor 16 has its axis of rotation perpendicular to the axis of the lever. opening 9.

Although the invention has been described in connection with a particular embodiment, it is obvious that it is not limited thereto and that it comprises all the technical equivalents of the means described and their combinations if they are within the scope of the invention defined by the dependent claims.

Claims (10)

1. Electrical lock for an automobile vehicle door comprising a lock housing (B) for which a first compartment (3) called the retention compartment contains a bolt (4) that can retain a strike, and a pawl (5) blocking the bolt in the strike retaining position, and for which a second compartment (15) called the dynamic compartment contains a sealed lock immobilising a mechanism comprising an immobilising lever (41) that can put the lock into the immobilised / released position, and an opening mechanism comprising an electric motor (16) to assist with opening, capable of moving an external opening lever (9) to move the pawl into its bolt release position in response to an external open control signal emitted by an external opening contactor (60) when a user activates an external control means such as a handle or an external lever-handle, characterised by the fact that it includes an external mechanical connecting means (C), for which an external portion will be connected to the external control means and for which another internal portion extends into the sealed second compartment (15) of the lock, the said external opening contactor (60) being arranged in the said second sealed compartment on the path of the said internal portion of the external mechanical connecting means (C) so as to emit an external opening control signal when the mechanical connecting means is moved over an opening distance determined during use of the external control means.
2. Lock according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the internal portion of the mechanical connecting means (C) is fixed to a runner (37) that is guided by a slide (38, 39) inside the second sealed compartment (15) along the opening path of the mechanical connecting means, and that can cooperate with the contactor (60) at the end of the opening path so as to trigger sending the opening control signal to the electric motor (16).
3. Lock according to claim 1 or 2, characterised by the fact that it is associated with a so-called "hands-off" remote recognition system that will supply power to the electric motor (16) when an authorised user has been identified by the said recognition system close to the vehicle.
4. Lock according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised by the fact that the internal portion of the mechanical connecting means comprises an end piece (36) at its free end capable of pivoting an emergency opening lever (32) in case of an electrical failure or if the vehicle battery goes flat, by displacing the said connecting means (C) under the action of the external control means, over an extra travel distance beyond the electrical opening travel distance, the said emergency lever being capable of displacing the external opening lever (9) during the said overtravel distance, in order to release the bolt (4).
5. Lock according to claim 4, characterised by the fact that the emergency lever (32) is acted upon by a stiff return spring to return it towards its rest position.
6. Lock according to claim 4 or 5, characterised by the fact that the immobilising lever (41) is capable of moving the end piece (36) mentioned above of the connecting means (C) when the lock is immobilised in a position in which the end piece escapes from the emergency lever, regardless of the displacement of the connecting means, and to put the said end piece into a position in which it cooperates with the emergency lever during the overtravel distance when the lock is released.
7. Lock according to claim 6, characterised by the fact that the connecting means is a flexible cable (C) and the immobilising lever (41) comprises an arm (47) capable of moving the cable end piece (36) to modify the path of the cable, such that the said end piece escapes from the emergency lever (32) when the lock is immobilised.
8. Lock according to claim 7, characterised by the fact that the emergency lever (32) comprises a fork (35) between the branches of which passes the connecting cable (C), the distance between the branches being less than the size of the end piece (36), so that the end piece can drive the emergency lever, in the released position of the lock.
9. Lock according to claim 8, characterised by the fact that the branches of the fork (35) comprise a guide ramp (35a) at their free end to guide the end piece (36) along the path of the cable (C) in its escaped position when the cable is moved under the action of the external control means.
10. Lock according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterised by the fact that it comprises an automatic releasing means when opening comprising a first lever (13) fitted with a cam follower element (13a) placed in the first retaining compartment (3) to cooperate with a cam profile (4a) provided on the bolt (4), and a second lever (54) arranged in the second sealed compartment (15) capable of cooperating with a stop (49) provided on a immobilising lever (41) such that when the bolt rotates to its open position, the profile of the cam (14a) moves the follower element of the cam (13a) and consequently the second lever (54) that is fixed in rotation with the first lever (13), to automatically bring the immobilising lever (41) into its release position.

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