EP4090820A1

EP4090820A1 - Motor vehicle lock

Info

Publication number: EP4090820A1
Application number: EP21706159.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Holger Schiffer; Michael Scholz; Michael Herrmann; Thomas SCHÖNENBERG
Original assignee: Kiekert AG
Current assignee: Kiekert AG
Priority date: 2020-01-14
Filing date: 2021-01-13
Publication date: 2022-11-23
Also published as: WO2021143980A1; DE102021100462A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a motor vehicle lock, in particular a motor vehicle door lock, which is equipped with a locking mechanism (1, 2) composed, essentially, of a rotary latch (1) and a pawl (2) as the locking mechanism (1, 2) components. The lock also comprises a pull-shut / opening mechanism (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) having at least one drive (3) and a lever chain (4, 5, 6, 7) that can be acted upon by the drive. The lock also comprises a drive pawl (8), following the lever chain (3, 4, 5, 6, 7), for driving the associated locking mechanism (1, 2). According to the invention, the lever chain (3, 4, 5, 6, 7), for the purpose of interrupting a pull-shut / opening movement, is equipped with a separation point (9) that can be optionally closed or opened while the drive pawl (8) remains engaged with the locking mechanism (1, 2).

Description

description

Motor vehicle lock

The invention relates to a motor vehicle lock, in particular a motor vehicle door lock, with a locking mechanism consisting essentially of rotary latch and pawl as locking components, furthermore with a closing / opening device with at least one drive and a lever chain that can be acted upon by this, and with a drive pawl following the lever chain for Drive of the associated locking part.

The motor vehicle lock mentioned above is not, by limitation, a motor vehicle door lock. In fact, the term motor vehicle lock in the context of the present invention also includes, for example, motor vehicle tailgate locks, motor vehicle front hatch locks or even motor vehicle fuel filler flap locks, motor vehicle tailgate locks, motor vehicle locks for seats, etc. As a rule, for example, closing devices for motor vehicle tailgate locks or Motor vehicle side door locks are also used.

With the help of such closing devices, the relevant tailgate or motor vehicle side door is transferred from the manually reached pre-locking position with the aid of the drive into a main locking position or main locking position. If during this process it happens that, for example, clothing or - worse still - fingers of an operator are jammed in the door gap, a kind of emergency opening is required or the associated closing process must be interrupted. In the case of such an emergency interruption, the procedure is generally such that the drive pawl for driving the associated locking component is lifted immediately from its engagement with the catch in the event of the closing movement already described above.

The generic prior art according to DE 10 2011 012 656 A1 provides in this context that the additionally provided opening drive including opening transmission lever to interrupt the closing function is set up. For this purpose, an eject lever is provided, which is acted upon by the opening transmission lever for ejecting the drive pawl. As a result, the overall design effort should be reduced and, in addition, synergy effects should be observed.

In the further prior art according to DE 10 2014 003 737 A1, the procedure is such that an additional ejector device with an ejector lever is provided. At this point it is to be ensured in this way that the locking mechanism is swiveled completely into its OPEN position at all times after an opening process even with a large overstroke. The ejector lever can be used to fully open the locking mechanism, depending on the position of the rotary latch.

In principle, it is sometimes also necessary to interrupt an opening movement when the locking mechanism is acted upon with the aid of the opening device. In this case, the opening device works via the drive and the swivel chain that can be acted upon by it and the drive pawl following the swivel chain not on the rotary latch, but rather on the pawl and, during an opening process, ensures that the pawl from its engagement with the rotary latch is in the closed state of the locking mechanism is lifted. This allows the rotary latch to open with the assistance of a spring and release a locking bolt that was previously caught. If such an opening movement is interrupted, this can take place again in that the drive pawl is lifted from its engagement with the locking pawl in the example. However, the problem of being able to implement an emergency interruption regularly arises primarily with closing devices and a corresponding closing process.

The prior art, for example according to DE 10 2011 012 656 A1, has basically proven itself at this point. However, the ejection of the drive pawl in the course of an emergency interruption sometimes requires relatively complicated mechanisms because the drive pawl is naturally arranged in the area of the rotary latch to act on it. Often only a limited installation space is available here in order to use the ejector lever to properly, quickly and immediately separate the drive pawl from the previously activated rotary latch, in particular in the event of an emergency interruption. This is where the invention begins. The invention is based on the technical problem of developing such a motor vehicle lock and in particular motor vehicle door lock in such a way that the possibility of realizing a flexible interruption of a corresponding movement for closing or opening is made available.

To solve this technical problem, a generic motor vehicle lock within the scope of the invention is characterized in that the lever chain is equipped with an optionally closable and openable separation point to interrupt a closing / opening movement, while the drive pawl remains in engagement with the locking component.

In order to realize this in detail, the lever chain is usually equipped with at least one first operating lever and a second operating lever, which have the separation point between them. The first actuating lever is generally acted upon indirectly or directly with the aid of the drive. This is generally an electric motor drive with an electric motor and a possibly downstream gear, which works on the first actuating lever to implement the desired opening / closing movement. In contrast, the second actuating lever acts regularly - also indirectly or directly - on the drive pawl.

To implement the separation point, the first actuation lever and the second actuation lever are generally coupled with the interposition of a coupling element that selectively connects and separates both levers. In its coupled state, the coupling element ensures that the two levers are connected to one another. The closed state of the separation point corresponds to this. However, when the coupling element is disengaged, the two actuating levers are separated from one another. The open state of the separation point corresponds to this.

As a rule, the coupling element is rotatably mounted on one of the two actuating levers. As a rule, the coupling element is rotatably mounted on the second actuating lever. The second operating lever ensures in turn for the fact that the drive pawl is acted upon directly or indirectly.

In detail, the coupling element has a stop arm and regularly also an actuating arm. In the coupled state of the coupling element, the coupling element rests with the stop arm on a nose of the first actuating lever. In contrast, the coupling element releases the nose in question in its disengaged state. As a result, the coupling element in the coupled state ensures that the stop arm rests on its nose when the first actuating lever is acted on. Since the coupling element with the stop arm is rotatably mounted on the second actuating lever, the second actuating lever is automatically taken along when the first actuating lever is acted upon and can then act on the drive pawl in this coupled state.

If, however, the stop arm of the coupling element does not rest on the nose of the first actuating lever, then loading of the first actuating lever cannot be transferred to the second actuating lever, rather an empty movement occurs between the two levers. The disengaged state of the coupling element corresponds to this. As already explained, the coupling element is usually designed as a two-arm lever with the stop arm in question and the actuating arm.

In addition, an ejector lever is advantageously provided to act on the coupling element. As a rule, the design is such that the ejector lever acts on the actuating arm of the clutch lever. Since the coupling lever or the coupling element is mounted on the second actuating lever, pressures on the actuating arm with the help of the ejector lever result in the actuating arm at the other end of the two-arm lever either moving against the nose of the first actuating lever or releasing the nose in question.

The two actuating levers are usually mounted on the same axis as one another. A common bearing bolt anchored in a lock housing or lock case is usually used for this purpose. In order to provide a particularly low-weight embodiment, some of the levers mentioned or all of them can be made of plastic. In particular, it has proven useful if the ejector lever and the coupling element are made of plastic. The remaining levers may be made of steel. In any case, the invention ensures that, in particular to interrupt a closing movement in the course of an emergency interruption, the drive pawl, which in this case acts on the rotary latch, can remain in contact with the rotary latch. Rather, during this process, the upstream lever chain that acts on the drive pawl is opened in the region of the separation point. The overall design can be such that the separation point between the two actuating levers in the example is positioned in such a way that the coupling element usually provided in the area of the separation point can be acted upon easily with the aid of the ejector lever, taking into account a structurally simple configuration. The actuation of the ejector lever in the course of the emergency interruption can generally be implemented and implemented manually or by motor.

In any case, the lever chain upstream of the drive pawl is interrupted and the drive pawl remains in contact with the actuated locking component, usually the rotary latch. This design is associated with the advantage that the locking mechanism with the drive pawl is generally arranged in a locking plane, whereas the lever chain, like the majority of the other levers of the motor vehicle lock, is arranged in a lever plane that is perpendicular to it. As a result, appropriate measures for emergency interruption of the lever chain can be easily implemented and implemented in precisely this lever level, and according to the invention, complicated deflections to act on the drive pawl in the locking level are expressly not required. This is where the main advantages can be seen.

The invention is explained in more detail below with the aid of a drawing showing only one exemplary embodiment; show it:

1A and 1B the motor vehicle lock according to the invention in an overview with the closing device on the one hand in the assembled state (Fig. 1A) and on the other hand in an exploded view (Fig. 1 B) in a first variant and

2A and 2B the closing device according to FIGS. 1A, B again in the assembled state and in an exploded view in a further modified embodiment.

The figures show a motor vehicle lock which, in the example shown, is a motor vehicle side door lock. Of course, this is not restrictive. The motor vehicle lock in question has a locking mechanism 1, 2, indicated and recognizable in FIGS. 1A and 2A, consisting essentially of rotary latch 1 and pawl 2. Furthermore, according to the exemplary embodiment, there is a closing device 3, particularly recognizable in FIGS. 1A and 2A , 4, 5, 6, 7 realized. Instead of the closing device 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, an opening device or a combined closing / opening device 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 could also be implemented, although this is not shown in detail. The closing device 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 works on the rotary latch 1 and ensures that the rotary latch 1 is transferred from an initially assumed pre-locking position or pre-locking position to a main-locking position or down-locking position.

For this purpose, the locking mechanism 1, 2 in the example is first moved into the pre-locking position or pre-locking position by manually closing an associated motor vehicle door. The pre-locking position can now be detected by sensors. A control unit, not expressly shown, ensures that the closing device 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 is acted upon after the catch 1 has reached the pre-locking position, namely by an electric motor according to the exemplary embodiment. For this purpose, the closing device 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 has at least one drive 3, which is only indicated in the figures.

With the aid of the drive 3, corresponding closing movements are generated and transmitted to a drive pawl 8 with the aid of a chain 4, 5, 6, 7 that can be acted upon by the drive 3. This means that the drive pawl 8 follows the fleece chain 4, 5, 6, 7 that can be acted upon with the aid of the drive 3. Management example, the rotary latch 1, for closing the locking mechanism 1, 2 are acted upon.

According to the invention, the lever chain 4, 5, 6, 7 is now equipped with an optionally closable and openable separating point 9 to interrupt a closing movement. While the lever chain 4, 5, 6, 7 can be optionally closed and opened in the area of this separation point 9, the drive pawl 8 remains in engagement with the associated locking component 1, 2, after

Embodiment with the rotary latch 1. As a result, according to the invention, the optional opening and closing of the lever chain 4, 5, 6, 7 in the area of the separation point 9 and thus in the lever plane and there are no complicated deflections at this point to act on the drive pawl 8 in the locking plane necessary. The lever chain 4, 5, 6, 7 initially has a transmission lever or first operating lever 4. With the aid of the transmission lever or first operating lever 4, a downward movement indicated in the figures and generated by the electric motor drive 3 is generated according to the exemplary embodiment recorded. This downward movement of the electric motor drive 3 results in a counterclockwise movement of the first operating lever or transmission lever 4 about its axis 12. In addition, this movement is transmitted to a second operating lever 5 articulated to the transmission lever 4.

In detail, the first actuation lever or transmission lever 4, like the further second actuation lever 5, is mounted in the lock case 10 or generally in the lock housing, on the same axis with respect to the common axis 12. As soon as the first actuation lever or transmission lever 4 and the second actuation lever 5 are rotatably coupled to each other (which is provided by a coupling lever 7, which will be described in more detail below), the downward movement of the transmission lever 4 generated with the aid of the drive 3 causes the second actuating lever 5 to rotate around the common axis 12 in the area of the separation point 9 according to the exemplary embodiment in Be pivoted counterclockwise. In this case the separation point 9 is closed with the aid of the coupling lever 7. This allows the second operating lever 5 to work on the drive pawl 8, According to the embodiment in Fig. 1A in the sense of an upward movement, so that with the help of the drive pawl 8 during this process, the rotary latch 1 is acted upon in a closing sense and, as a result of the upward movement of the drive pawl 8, performs a counterclockwise movement. As a consequence of this, the rotary latch 1 can be transferred from its previously assumed pre-locking position into the main locking position, as has already been described above.

To implement the separation point 9, the coupling element or the coupling lever 7 already mentioned is implemented. The transmission lever 4 or first actuation lever 4 and the second actuation lever 5 are now coupled to one another with the interposition of this coupling element 7, which optionally connects and separates the two levers 4, 5. The coupling element 7 is rotatably mounted on the transmission lever 4. Accordingly, the coupling element 7 has a bearing on the first actuating lever 4 acted upon by the drive 3. For the bearing of the coupling lever 7 on the transmission lever 4 in question, a corresponding axis 11 is implemented, which is opposite from the common axis for bearing the two actuating levers 4, 5 the lock case 10 is to be distinguished and spaced.

In the context of the exemplary embodiments, a guide 6 can then be seen between the two actuating levers 4, 5. In the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the guide 6 is an elongated hole guide and engaging pins between the two levers 4, 5 whereas in the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 2A and 2B, a respective bearing bush on the second actuating lever 5 in connection with bearing cheeks on the coupling element 7 provides at this point.

It can be seen from the exploded view in FIG. 1 B that the coupling element or the coupling lever 7 in the variant according to FIGS. 1 A and 1 B is mounted between the first actuation lever 4 and the second actuation lever 5. In contrast, in the variant embodiment according to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the procedure is such that the coupling element 7 there is mounted on the second actuating lever 5 in the axis 12 shared with the first actuating lever 4. Also dives into In this embodiment, the first actuating lever 4 is inserted into a receiving groove 5a of the second actuating lever 5 and, moreover, the design is such that the first actuating lever 4 engages through the coupling lever 7 in the region of a receiving groove 7c.

In both embodiment variants, the coupling element 7 is a coupling lever 7, which in the present case is designed as a two-arm lever with a stop arm 7a and an actuating arm 7b. In the coupled state of the coupling element or the coupling lever 7, the stop arm 7a rests on a nose 14 of the second actuating lever 5. In the disengaged state, however, said nose 14 of the second actuating lever 5 is free from the stop arm 7a of the coupling element or coupling lever 7 in question.

An ejector lever 13 can also be seen in the figures. The ejector lever 13 has a parallel, rotatable mounting in the lock case 10 compared to the axis 12, which is spaced therefrom. In fact, an axis 13b for the ejector lever 13 is implemented at this point. In addition, the ejector lever 13 is provided as a whole to act on the coupling element or coupling lever 7. In fact, the ejector lever 13 ensures that the actuating arm 7b of the coupling element or coupling lever 7 can be acted upon.

According to the exemplary embodiment, the ejector lever 13 and the coupling lever 7 are made of plastic, while the remaining levers 4, 5, 6 have a metallic design, in particular made of steel. In principle, however, the remaining levers 4, 5, 6 can also be made of plastic. In addition, it is within the scope of the invention to manufacture the ejector lever 13 and the coupling lever 7 from metal or steel.

The way it works is as follows. In FIGS. 1A and 2A, the coupled state of the coupling element 7 is shown in solid lines. The functional state corresponds to this in such a way that the separation point 9 between the two actuating levers 4, 5 is closed. In this state, with the separation point 9 closed and the coupling element 7 engaged, the action exerted on the transmission lever 4 by the drive 3 leads this means that the two actuating levers 4, 5 are pivoted together about their axis 12 in a clockwise direction. As a result, the second actuating lever 5 can work on the drive pawl 8, which in turn acts on the rotary latch 1 in a closing direction.

If, during this process, it happens that, for example, an item of clothing or an operator's finger is trapped in the door gap of the motor vehicle door that is acted upon in this way in the closing direction, the closing process can be interrupted. For this purpose, there is the possibility that the operator in question manually acts on the ejector lever 13. However, it is also possible for the ejector lever 13 to be acted upon by a motor.

In any case, the emergency interruption implemented in this way ensures that the ejector lever 13 is pivoted about its axis 13b in the counterclockwise direction indicated in FIGS. 1A and 2A. As a result, the ejector lever 13 works with an attached cam 13a on the actuating arm 7b of the coupling element or coupling lever 7. As a result, the coupling element or the coupling lever 7 is pivoted about its axis 11 clockwise.

As a result, the stop arm 7a of the coupling element or of the coupling lever 7, which was previously resting on the nose 14 of the first actuating lever 5, comes free of the nose 14 in question. The rotationally fixed coupling between the two actuating levers 4, 5, which was previously realized during the closing movement with the aid of the stop arm 7a, is consequently opened and canceled in the area of the separation point 9.

As a result, the first actuating lever 4 performs its pivoting movement unchanged about the axis 12 common to the second actuating lever 5 in the counterclockwise direction. However, as a result of this emergency interruption, this pivoting movement of the first operating lever 4 is not (no longer) transmitted to the second operating lever 5, which consequently goes empty. As a result, the second actuating lever 5 cannot (no longer) work on the drive pawl 8 and ultimately the rotary latch 1 is released from the chain 4, 5, 6, 7. Since the rotary latch 1 is typically acted upon in its opening direction with the aid of a spring or additionally or alternatively by built-up counterforces of a rubber door seal of the motor vehicle door in the opening direction, the interrupted mechanical connection between the rotary latch 1 or the drive pawl 8 and the now in the area of the separation point 9 leads open lever chain 4, 5, 6, 7 to the fact that the rotary latch 1 is opened immediately and releases a previously caught locking bolt. The associated motor vehicle door carrying the locking bolt is released immediately and the door gap opens with practically no delay. This eliminates the clamping effect described in the example with practically no delay.

List of reference symbols

1 rotary latch

2 pawl 3 drive

4 transmission levers, first operating lever

5 second operating lever

6 leadership

7 coupling element 7a stop arm 7b actuating arm

8 drive pawl

9 Cutting point

10 lock case 11 axis

12 axis 13 ejector lever 13a cam 13b axis

Claims

Patent claims:

1 . Motor vehicle lock, in particular motor vehicle door lock, with a locking mechanism (1, 2) consisting essentially of a rotary latch (1) and pawl (2) as locking components (1, 2), furthermore with a closing / opening device (3, 4, 5) , 6, 7) with at least one drive (3) and a lever chain (4, 5, 6, 7) that can be acted upon by this, and with a drive pawl (8) following the lever chain (4, 5, 6, 7) for driving the associated Locking component (1, 2), which means that the lever chain (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) can be opened and closed to interrupt a closing / opening movement Separation point (9) is equipped, while the drive pawl (8) remains in engagement with the locking component (1, 2).

2. Motor vehicle lock according to claim 1, characterized in that the lever chain (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) is equipped with at least one first operating lever (4) and a second operating lever (5), which between them the separation point ( 9).

3. Motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first actuating lever (4) is coupled to the second actuating lever (5) with the interposition of a coupling element (7) optionally connecting and separating both levers (4, 5).

4. Motor vehicle lock according to claim 3, characterized in that the coupling element (7) is rotatably mounted on one of the two actuating levers (4, 5).

5. Motor vehicle lock according to claim 4, characterized in that the coupling element (7) is mounted on the first actuating lever (4) acted upon by the drive (3).

6. Motor vehicle lock according to one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the coupling element (7) rests in the coupled state with a stop arm (7a) on a nose (14) of the first actuating lever (5) and the nose in the uncoupled state (14) releases.

7. Motor vehicle lock according to one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that the coupling element (7) is designed as a two-arm lever with the stop arm (7a) and an actuating arm (7b).

8. Motor vehicle lock according to one of claims 3 to 7, characterized in that an ejector lever (13) is provided for acting on the coupling element (7).

9. Motor vehicle lock according to claim 8, characterized in that the ejector lever (13) acts on the actuating arm (7b) of the coupling element (7).

10. Motor vehicle lock according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that both actuating levers (4, 5) are mounted coaxially in a common axis (12) to one another.