EP3128108A1 - Handle unit - Google Patents

Abstract

In a handle unit (1) with a handle element (4) for opening and / or closing a provided on a movable part lock, a lock cylinder (5), which is protected by a cover (9), and a fastener (7) on in which the cap (9) is detachably arranged, a solution is to be created by which an improved attachment to a part of the handle unit is made possible. This is achieved in that the cover cap (9) has on the inside at least one guide lug (17) which rests in the latching position on a guide surface (18) which is formed on the fastening element (7) and complementary to the guide lug (17), wherein upon release of the cap (9) the fastener (7) forces the movement of the cap (9) such that the at least one guide lug (17) moves along the complementarily shaped and away from the fastener (7) directed guide surface (18) ,

Description

The invention is directed to a handle unit for a movable part of a vehicle, in particular for a door or a flap, with a movable handle element for opening and / or closing a provided on the movable part lock, a lock cylinder, by means of a cap to the outside is protected, and a fastener to which the cap is detachably arranged, wherein the fastener at least one elastic latching hook and the cap have at least one latching recess, and wherein the at least one latching hook is complementary to the at least one latching recess and with this in a detent position the cap is engaged.

A grip unit of the type described input is for example from the DE 10 2008 031 218 known. Such a modern handle unit for doors or flaps of a vehicle is operated predominantly via electronic means by radio, by infrared or by means of RFID technology. Therefore, the conventional mechanical lock cylinder of the handle unit is only of secondary importance. In addition, there are Keyless Go systems, which make even the use of the remote control of the locking system via a transmitter key unnecessary.

In case of power failure or other electronic disturbances in the motor vehicle, however, must remain a possibility to open the motor vehicle without electronic means. Therefore, locking cylinders are still provided at least at the driver's door, which are very rarely operated with a mechanical key in such a handle unit. To protect the lock cylinder and to conceal it from the outside, cover caps are known, which are releasably secured to the handle unit or to the cylinder housing of the lock cylinder. The cover caps the lock cylinder towards the outside of the handle unit or the door of the vehicle and must then be removed or disassembled when the door or Flap through the lock cylinder with a mechanical key must be opened. For disassembly of the caps usually a tool is required, which is realized in many cases by the mechanical key. When disassembling the cap from the handle unit, there is the problem that the cap is uncontrollably released from the handle unit and is moved in the direction of the door or flap or in the direction of the body panel of the door or flap and strikes there, causing damage to the paint and / or the sheet can entail.

The invention has for its object to provide a solution that provides a handle unit in a structurally simple manner and cost, which avoids the known from the prior art problem of damage to the vehicle panel and is made possible by the improved attachment to a part of the handle unit.

In a handle unit of the type described input, the object is achieved in that the cap has on the inside at least one guide lug, which abuts in the detent position on a guide surface which is formed on the fastener and complementary to the guide lug, wherein when loosening the cap Fastening element, the movement of the cap forcibly leads such that moves the at least one guide lug along the complementarily shaped and directed away from the fastener guide surface. For the purposes of the invention, the expression "positively guided" is to be understood as a movement in which the freedom of movement is restricted at least in one spatial direction and is guided in the manner of a link. Furthermore, for the purposes of the invention, the term "complementary" means that something is designed to correspond to something else, so that only a corresponding complementary design ensures the functionality. The term "complementary" in this sense means that a shape of a component is matched to the shape of another component, just to ensure the desired function in the interaction of the two components. As part of the Finally, in the present invention, the movable part for a vehicle is understood to mean, in particular, an outer door, a side door, a tailgate or a glove box flap or the like. The vehicle may in particular be a car, a truck, a ship or an aircraft.

Advantageous and expedient refinements and developments of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims.

By the invention, a handle unit is provided, which is characterized by a functional design and has a simple and inexpensive construction. While rests in the detent position of the cap, the guide lug on the guide surface and is supported there, when releasing the cap is a positively driven movement, wherein the guide lug of the cap along the guide surface of the fastener is moved. Due to the fact that the guide surface is directed away from the fastening element, the cover is inevitably moved away from the fastening element and thus away from the handle unit during release, whereby, unlike the grip units known from the prior art, there is no longer the danger that the cap strikes the sheet metal of the door or flap, damaging the paint. The specially designed guide surface of the fastener ensures according to the present invention ensures that the cover is led away during disassembly or disassembly of the handle unit from the sheet metal of the door or flap, so that damage to the paint or the sheet is excluded.

In a refinement of the handle unit according to the invention, it has proven to be particularly effective that the at least one guide surface of the fastening element and the at least one guide projection of the cover cap are curved in an arc shape. In this way, due to the associated with the arch shape pivoting movement of the cap with relatively little space, the cap can be removed from the handle unit.

In an embodiment of the invention it is provided that the fastening element has at one of its longitudinal ends a support on which rests at least a portion of a longitudinal end of the cap. Depending on the orientation of the guide surface of the fastener can thereby be realized either a pulling or pivoting movement to release the cap from the handle unit.

It is particularly advantageous if the support and the at least one guide surface, which is arranged adjacent to the support and extends substantially parallel to this, together form a pivot bearing for the cover, around which the cover is pivotally mounted to the lock cylinder. Consequently, the cap can be swung open to release the underlying lock cylinder, without causing the risk that the cap could damage the paint or the sheet metal of the door or flap.

In a further embodiment of the handle unit according to the invention, the invention provides in an advantageous manner that the fastening element has at least two Bewegungsbegrenzungsstege, between which at least one movement limiting approach of the cap is arranged, wherein the at least two movement limiting webs movement of the cap transverse to the direction of forcibly guided movement when loosening the Block the cap. By the measure of the at least two movement limiting webs in interaction with the movement limiting approach arranged therebetween, a movement of the cap is possible only along one direction, namely along the guide surface, but not transversely or laterally to the guide surface.

The invention provides in a further embodiment of the handle unit in that at least one elastically movable locking arm is formed in the interior of the cap, which engages with a locking recess which is formed on the fastening element and complementary to the locking arm of the cap in such a way that a movement the guide lug is blocked along the guide surface. In particular, the cap is arranged in the detent position when the locking arm is engaged with the locking recess.

A particularly compact and space-saving design is given in an embodiment of the invention in that the fastening element has a housing for receiving the lock cylinder.

As an alternative to an arcuate guide surface may be provided a rectilinear guide surface, then in an embodiment of the invention in addition to the at least one guide lug, which is formed at a longitudinal end of the cap, a secondary guide projection in the center of the cap or on a guide approach opposite Longitudinal end of the cap is formed, wherein the fastening element has a secondary guide surface which is complementary to the secondary guide lug and from which the secondary guide lug is guided when releasing the cap. In this way, only a movement of the cap during disassembly of the handle unit away or when mounting to this point is possible. A pivoting movement or a lateral movement of the cap, however, is not possible due to the guide surface and the secondary guide surface.

An inexpensive way of designing the fastener, the invention provides that the fastener is releasably secured to a handle support of the handle unit or is formed as a component portion of a handle support of the handle unit. Here, the variant of the component section is to be understood as an embodiment in which the fastening element is formed integrally with the grip carrier.

Finally, the invention provides in a further embodiment of the handle unit, that in the cap, an opening is introduced, through which a tool in the interior of the cap is hineinführbar so that the at least one elastic latching hook can be pressed out of its detent position that the latching hook except Engagement with the recess passes and the cap is detachable from the handle unit. Alternatively, the tool can move the latching recess away from the latching hook, which implies that the latching recess is formed on an elastically movable component. In general, the tool passes through the opening in the interior of the cap to release a locking connection between the cap and fastener for disassembly of the cap.

It is understood that the features mentioned above and those yet to be explained can be used not only in the particular combination given, but also in other combinations or in isolation, without departing from the scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined only by the claims.

• Figur 1 eine Schnittdarstellung der Anordnung einer Griffeinheit in einer Tür eines Kraftfahrzeugs mit einem Schließzylinder und einem Befestigungselement, wobei eine an dem Befestigungselement angebrachte Abdeckkappe vorgesehen ist, um den Schließzylinder abzudecken,
• Figur 2 die an dem Befestigungselement angebrachte Abdeckkappe und ein mechanischer Schlüssel zum Lösen der Abdeckkappe in perspektivischer Ansicht,
• Figur 3 eine perspektivische Ansicht auf die von dem Befestigungselement gelöste Abdeckkappe,
• Figur 4 eine Einzelteildarstellung der in Figur 3 gezeigten Bauteile der erfindungsgemäßen Griffeinheit,
• Figur 5 das Befestigungselement aus Figur 3 in perspektivischer Darstellung,
• Figur 6 die Abdeckkappe aus Figur 3 in perspektivischer Darstellung,
• Figur 7 eine perspektivische Schnittansicht des Befestigungselements aus Figur 5,
• Figur 8 eine perspektivische Schnittansicht der Abdeckkappe aus Figur 6,
• Figur 9 eine weitere perspektivische Schnittansicht des Befestigungselements aus Figur 5,
• Figur 10 eine seitliche Schnittansicht des Befestigungselements und der Abdeckkappe in Raststellung,
• Figur 11 eine geschnittene Vorderansicht des Befestigungselements und der Abdeckkappe in Raststellung,
• Figur 12 eine seitliche Schnittansicht des Befestigungselements und der Abdeckkappe nach deren Lösen vom Befestigungselement und
• Figur 13 alternative Ausführungsformen mit Sekundär-Führungsfläche und Sekundär-Führungsansatz in schematischer Schnittdarstellung.

Further details, features and advantages of the subject matter of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which exemplary preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. In the drawing shows:

• FIG. 1 a sectional view of the arrangement of a handle unit in a door of a motor vehicle with a lock cylinder and a fastener, wherein a cap attached to the fastener is provided to cover the lock cylinder,
• FIG. 2 attached to the fastener cap and a mechanical key for releasing the cap in perspective view,
• FIG. 3 a perspective view of the solved by the fastener cap,
• FIG. 4 an itemized view of in FIG. 3 shown components of the handle unit according to the invention,
• FIG. 5 from the fastener FIG. 3 in perspective,
• FIG. 6 the cap off FIG. 3 in perspective,
• FIG. 7 a perspective sectional view of the fastener FIG. 5 .
• FIG. 8 a perspective sectional view of the cap FIG. 6 .
• FIG. 9 another perspective sectional view of the fastener FIG. 5 .
• FIG. 10 a side sectional view of the fastener and the cap in the locked position,
• FIG. 11 a sectional front view of the fastener and the cap in the locked position,
• FIG. 12 a sectional side view of the fastener and the cap after its release from the fastener and
• FIG. 13 alternative embodiments with secondary guide surface and secondary guide approach in a schematic sectional view.

FIG. 1 shows an arrangement of a handle unit 1 within a door 2 of a motor vehicle, wherein the door 2 is indicated as a painted sheet metal outer skin of the motor vehicle with a dashed line. The handle unit 1 has a handle support 3, which is introduced substantially inside the door 2. The door 2 has a plurality of openings and passages, so that the operating elements of the handle unit 1 are attached to the outside of the door 2 and can be connected to the handle support 3 through the openings.

With reference to the FIGS. 1 to 12 in which a first embodiment of the handle unit 1 according to the invention is shown, is provided as an operating element designed in the manner of a handle handle element 4 for manual operation of the handle unit 1. The grip element 4 cooperates with a lock cylinder 5, so that when the lock cylinder 5 is locked, the grip element 4 can not be operated effectively. The lock cylinder 5 is arranged on the inside in the door 2 of the motor vehicle and is accommodated in a cylinder housing 6, which is integrally formed with a fastening element 7. With the help of the fastener 7 of the lock cylinder 5 can be fastened to the handle support 3. For example, a power failure, a mechanical key 8 can be used to operate the lock cylinder. For one Protection of the lock cylinder 5 is a cap 9 is provided, which is arranged in extension of the grip element 4 and which is adapted to the shape of the grip element 4. In order to make the appearance of the handle unit 1 with the designed as a plastic injection molded cap 9 high quality, the attachment of the cap 9 is concealed and implemented via internal locking geometries, as will be described in more detail below.

The cap 9 is arranged on the fastening element 7 releasably attached to the handle unit 1. More specifically, the cap 9 is releasably attached to the fastener 7, wherein in the illustrated embodiment, the fastener 7 itself is releasably secured to the handle support 3. Alternatively, it would also be conceivable that the fastening element 7 as a component portion of the handle support 3, that is integrally formed with the handle support 3. In order for the cover cap 9 to be releasably attachable to the fastening element 7, the fastening element 7 has an elastic latching hook 10. How further the FIGS. 2 to 4 can be seen, in the cap 9 a recess 11 is formed, in which the latching hook 10 engages to the cap 9 in a locking position (see FIG. 2 ) on the fastener 7 set.

In order to bring the latching hook 10 of the fastener 7 out of engagement with the recess 11 of the cap 9, the use of a tool is necessary, which in the present case may be the mechanical key 8 or a similar shaped tool. For this purpose, an opening 12 is formed in the cap 9, through which the mechanical key 8 can be guided into the interior of the cap 9. With the help of the mechanical key 8, the latching recess 11, which is formed in an elastically movable tab 14, can then be disengaged from the latching hook 10. In this case, the tab 14 is elastically bent to the side, so that the latching hook 10 passes out of the latching recess 11. In this way, the cap 9 is at least at the longitudinal end 15, to which the latching recess 11 and the latching hook 10 are formed on the cap 9 and the fastening element 7, relative to the fastening element 7 movable, such as in FIG. 3 is shown in which the released longitudinal end 15 of the cap 9 is moved away from the longitudinal end 15 of the fastener 7. At the other longitudinal end 16, however, the cap 9 is still held on the fastening element 7, wherein at this longitudinal end 16, a guided movement of the cap 9 takes place, as will be described below.

From the FIGS. 5 to 12 It can be seen that the cover 9 has on the inside a plurality of guide lugs 17, wherein in the embodiment four guide lugs 17 are present, which extend at the longitudinal end 16 on the inside in the direction of the open side of the cap 9. In the locked position (see for example FIG. 10 ) are the guide lugs 17 of the cap 9 at a formed on the longitudinal end 16 guide surface 18 of the fastener 7 at. Accordingly, the guide surface 18 is formed complementary to the shape of the guide lugs 17. If now at the longitudinal end 15 of the latching hook 10 is brought out of engagement with the latching recess 11, then the longitudinal end 15 of the cap 9 can be moved relative to the fastening element 7, as it FIG. 12 shows. The complementary design of the guide surface 18 to the guide lugs 17 allows for the release of the cap 9, a forced movement in which the fastener 7, the movement of the cap 9 such leads or forced leads that the guide lugs 17 along the complementary formed and away from the fastener 7 move directed guide surface 18. Like from the FIGS. 6, 7 . 10 or 12 can be seen, the guide surface 18 of the fastener 7 and the guide lugs 17 of the cap 9 arcuate or curved extending formed, causing the in FIG. 3 and 12 shown pivoting movement of the cap 9 results. This pivoting movement is facilitated by the fact that the fastening element 7 has at its longitudinal end 16 a support 19 on which at least a portion of a longitudinal end 16 of the cap 9 rests. The Support 19 and the guide surface 18, which is adjacent to the support 19 and extends parallel to this, together form a pivot bearing 20 for the cap 9. Consequently, the cap 9 is pivotally mounted about the pivot bearing 20 to the lock cylinder 5, so that effectively prevents the cap 9 strikes against the sheet of the door 2 and optionally damaged the paint of the door 2, when the cap 9 is moved, for example, in an emergency from the locked position and removed.

Thus, the cap 9 is fixed securely in its rest position next to the fixation at the one longitudinal end 15 and at the other longitudinal end 16, inside the cap 9, three elastically deformable locking arms 21 (see, for example FIG. 8 ), which have a hook-shaped free end 23. The hook-shaped free ends 23 of the elastic locking arms 21 are in locking position of the Abbdeckkappe 9 in engagement with correspondingly formed in the fastener 7 locking recesses 22. The locking recesses 22 are complementary to the three locking arms 21 of the cap 9 in the frame-like structure of the fastener 7 is formed. By the locking arms 21, a movement of the guide lugs 17 along the guide surface 19 is blocked until a sufficiently large force urges the hook-shaped ends 23 of the locking arms 21 from the locking recesses 22. As in particular the FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 can be seen, the free hook-shaped ends 23 each have different spatial directions, which favors the fixation of the cap 9. As further seen from these figures, the two outer guide lugs 17 simultaneously form the two outer locking arms 21 (see, for example FIG. 11 ), which gives these management approaches a dual function.

In order to ensure that the cover cap 9 does not hit the door panel 2 during disassembly of the handle unit 1 as a result of a tilting movement, the fastening element 7 also has two movement limiting webs 24 on, between which two movement limiting lugs 25 of the cap 9 are arranged such that a movement of the cap 9 is blocked transversely to the direction of forcibly guided movement when releasing the cap 9 (see FIG. 11 ), whereby tilting of the cap 9 upon release from the handle unit 1 is prevented. But also the two outer locking arms 21 of the cap 9 each form a kind of movement limiting approach 25 (see FIG. 11 ), which in each case abut against corresponding outboard movement limiting webs 24, whereby a tilting of the cap 9 is prevented during their disassembly.

In FIG. 13 a second embodiment of the invention is shown, which differs from the first embodiment in that now an additional guide for the cap 9 is provided. This additional guide can be formed either at the longitudinal end 15 and / or the center of the cap 9, as FIG. 13 shows. The centrally formed guide is formed by a secondary guide lug 17 'of the cap 9 and a secondary guide surface 18' of the fastener 7, whereas in an additional guide at the longitudinal end 15 of the guide from a secondary guide lug 17 "of the cap 9 and a Secondary guide surface 18 "of the fastener 7 is formed. However, the lugs 17, 17 'and 18, 18', 18 "in this case are not arcuate or curved as in the first embodiment but rectilinear, so that when disassembling a rectilinearly away from the handle unit 1 movement of the cap 9 takes place. For the second embodiment is quite generally that in addition to the at least one guide lug 17 which is formed at the longitudinal end 16 of the cap 9, the secondary guide lug 17 ', 17 "center of the cap 9 and / or on the guide lug 17 opposite Longitudinal end 15 of the cap 9 is formed, wherein the fastening element 7 has a secondary guide surface 18 ', 18 ", which is complementary to the secondary guide lug 17', 17" is formed and from which the secondary guide lug 17 ', 17 "is performed when loosening the cap 9.

In summary, a handle unit 1 for a movable part of a vehicle, in particular for a door 2 or a flap 2, has been described above. The handle unit 1 comprises the movable grip element 4 for opening and / or closing a lock provided on the movable part, the lock cylinder 5, which is protected by means of the cover 9 to the outside, and the fastening element 7, on which the cover 9 is detachably arranged , The fastening element 7 has at least one elastic latching hook 10 and the cap 9 at least one latching recess 11, wherein the at least one latching hook 10 is complementary to the at least one latching recess 11 and is engaged with this in a locking position of the cap 9. According to the invention, the cap 9 has on the inside at least one guide lug 17, which rests in the latching position on a guide surface 18, which is formed on the fastening element 7 and complementary to the guide lug 17, wherein upon release of the cap 9, the fastening element 7, the movement the cap 9 forcibly leads such that the at least one guide lug 17 moves along the complementarily shaped guide surface 18 directed away from the fastening element 7. The advantage to be seen in this embodiment compared to the known from the prior art embodiments is that the cap 9 does not dissolve immediately during disassembly of the handle unit and falls down to the ground. The guide also ensures that the pointed longitudinal end of the cap 9 does not move into the metal sheet of the vehicle body and damage the paint or sheet. On the contrary, the guide according to the invention ensures that the cap 9 is led away from the sheet. In addition, the presented invention provides a safer attachment of the cap on the handle unit, as it suggest the known from the prior art solutions. It is understood that not only a guide but also a second or even third guidance can be provided as it is in the FIG. 13 shown embodiment and has been described above.

Of course, the invention described above is not limited to the described and illustrated embodiments. It will be appreciated that numerous modifications which are obvious to a person skilled in the art according to the intended application can be made to the embodiments shown in the drawing without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, it is sufficient if instead of several only a single guide lug 17 is provided to realize the guided movement of the cap from the detent position out. The invention includes everything that is contained in the description and / or shown in the drawing, including what is obvious to those skilled deviating from the specific embodiments.

Claims (10)

Handle unit (1) for a movable part of a vehicle, in particular for a door (2) or a flap (2), with a movable grip element (4) for opening and / or closing a lock provided on the movable part, a lock cylinder (5 ), which is protected by a cover cap (9) to the outside, and a fastening element (7) on which the cover cap (9) is detachably arranged,
wherein the fastening element (7) has at least one elastic latching hook (10) and the cover cap (9) at least one latching recess (11), and
wherein the at least one latching hook (10) is designed to be complementary to the at least one latching recess (11) and is engaged with the latter in a latching position of the cover cap (9),
characterized in that
the cover cap (9) has on the inside at least one guide lug (17) which rests in the detent position on a guide surface (18) which is formed on the fastening element (7) and complementary to the guide lug (17), wherein upon release of the cover cap ( 9) the fastening element (7) forces the movement of the covering cap (9) in such a way that the at least one guiding projection (17) moves along the guide surface (18) which is of complementary design and is directed away from the fastening element (7). Handle unit (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one guide surface (18) of the fastening element (7) and the at least one guide lug (17) of the cap (9) are arcuate running. Handle unit (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the fastening element (7) at one of its longitudinal ends (16) has a support (19) on which at least a portion of a longitudinal end (16) of the cover (9) rests. Handle unit (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the support (19) and the at least one guide surface (18), which is adjacent to the support (19) and extends substantially parallel thereto, together a pivot bearing (20). for the cap (9) form, about which the cap (9) is pivotally mounted to the lock cylinder (5). Handle unit (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fastening element (7) has at least two movement limiting webs (24), between which at least one movement limiting approach (25) of the cap (9) is arranged, wherein the at least two movement limiting webs (24 ) block a movement of the cap (9) transversely to the direction of the positively driven movement when loosening the cap (9). Handle unit (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that inside the cover cap (9) at least one elastically movable locking arm (21) is formed, which with a locking recess (22) on the fastening element (7) and complementary to the locking arm (21) of the cap (9) is formed, is engaged such that a movement of the guide lug (17) along the guide surface (18) is blocked. Handle unit (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the Fastening element (7) has a housing (6) for receiving the lock cylinder (5). Handle unit (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that in addition to the at least one guide lug (17) which is formed at a longitudinal end (16) of the cap (9), a secondary guide lug (17 ', 17 ") in the center of the Cover cap (9) or on one of the guide projection (17) opposite the longitudinal end (15) of the cap (9) is formed, wherein the fastening element (7) has a secondary guide surface (18 ', 18 ") which is complementary to the secondary Guidance approach (17 ', 17 ") is formed and of which the secondary guide lug (17', 17") when releasing the cap (9) is guided. Handle unit (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fastening element (7) on a handle support (3) of the handle unit (1) is releasably attached or as a component portion of a handle support (3) of the handle unit (1) is formed. Handle unit (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the cover cap (9) has an opening (12) is introduced, through which a tool (8) into the interior of the cap (9) is guided, so that the at least an elastic latching hook (10) can be brought out of its detent position such that the latching hook (10) is disengaged from the latching recess (11) and the cover cap (9) can be detached from the handle unit (1).

Images