GB2045336A

GB2045336A - Lock for Motor Vehicle Doors

Info

Publication number: GB2045336A
Application number: GB8008156A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: SETEC
Current assignee: SETEC
Priority date: 1979-03-26
Filing date: 1980-03-11
Publication date: 1980-10-29
Also published as: YU40870B; DE3010388C2; YU73880A; ES8100413A1; AR221413A1; GB2045336B; DE3010388A1; FR2452562A1; IT1118515B; ES489537A0; SU1111689A3; FR2452562B1; PL121894B1; PL222969A1; IT7967618A0; BR8001778A

Abstract

A motor-vehicle door lock has a pair of catch elements (9, 10) mounted on the vehicle door and pivotal between open and closed positions. A striker member mounted on the vehicle body is arranged upon closure of the door to engage the catch elements (9, 10) and move them from their open to their closed position in which they are retained by a spring-biased retaining member in the form of a linearly slidable element (14). A control lever (18) is operable to release the catch elements (9, 10) from the slidable element (14) except when a locking mechanism (25, 26, 29, 30) of the lock is in a locked condition rendering the lever (18) inoperative. To prevent forcing of the lock, the lever (18) is arranged to displace the slidable element (14) via a working member (22) which is integral with part (25) of the locking mechanism (26, 29, 30) and is moved in a slot (23) out of reach of the end (21) of the lever when the mechanism is locked. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Lock for Motor Vehicle Doors The present invention relates to locks for motor vehicle doors. In particular, the invention relates to a motor vehicle door lock of the type comprising: a support structure intended to be mounted on the door of a motor vehicle, a pair of catch elements mounted on the support structure for pivotal movement about respective parallel axes between an open position, a first closure position, and a second closure position, first resilient means arranged to urge both the catch elements towards their open position, a striker member intended to be mounted on the vehicle body in a position such that upon closing of the vehicle door the striker member engages the said two catch elements and causes them to pivot from their open position into their first or second closure position depending on whether the door is partially or fully closed, the catch elements when in either closure position cooperating with the striker member to hold the door in its corresponding state of closure, a retaining member operative upon movement of the catch elements into either said closure position to maintain these elements in this position by engagement in notches formed in both the catch elements, second resilient means arranged to urge the retaining member towards the catch elements whereby to resist disengagement of this member from the notches of the catch elements when engaged therein, cam means associated with the catch elements and serving to guide the retaining member into engagement with the notches of the catch elements upon closure of the vehicle door, disengagement means operable against the urging of said second resilient means to disengage the retaining member from the notches of the catch elements whereby to permit these elements to return to their open position and enable opening of the vehicle door, and locking means selectively operable to set the lock into an unlocked or locked condition in the latter of which said disengagement means is rendered inoperative to effect disengagement of the retaining member from the catch element notches.

A lock of the type specified above is described and illustrated in French Patent Specification No.

2,1 17,045. In this lock, the disengagement means operable to disengage the retaining member from the notches in the catch elements are constituted by a control lever pivoted on the support structure about an axis parallel to the pivoting axes of the two catch elements. The retaining member of the lock is formed as an integral part of the said control lever and is disposed at the free end of one arm of this lever.

To disengage the retaining member from the notches of the two catch elements, the control lever is rotated about its axis of pivoting, thereby causing the retaining member to move away from the said notches.

This prior art lock has several disadvantages, including: a) the locking means is constituted by means operable to prevent rotation of the said control lever about its axis of pivoting. With such an arrangement it is possible to force the lock open by causing a deformation of the parts of which it is constituted: b) since the retaining member is located at the free end of an arm of the control lever, this retaining member describes an arcuate path in its movement towards and away from the catch element notches. As a result, the walls of these notches and the cooperating walls of the retaining member must be accurately formed. Moreover with such an arrangement the retaining member may not enter into contact with both the catch members simultaneously.

c) the two catch elements provided in the lock illustrated in the above referred to French Patent, are disposed in two different parallel planes. As a result, with the catch elements closed around the striker member (which is constituted by a cylindrical pin), these elements exert a torque on the striker member.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved motor vehicle door lock which obviate at least the first two of the above mentioned disadvantages.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a lock of the type initially specified, characterised in that: a) the retaining member is constituted by a slider element mounted for linear sliding movement in a predetermined direction over the support structure towards and away from the catch elements, b) said disengagement means includes a working member displaceable by the locking means transversely to said predetermined direction between active and passive positions respectively corresponding to the unlocked and locked conditions of the lock, the working member being coupled to the slider element for movement therewith in said predetermined direction, and c) said disengagement means further includes a control lever constituted by a body separate from the slider element, said control lever being pivoted on the support structure about an axis parallel to the axes of pivoting of the catch elements and including an arm which upon rotation of the control lever is arranged to contact the said working member when in its active position whereby to enable the slider element to be displaced from the catch element notches by control lever rotation, the working member in its passive position being out of reach of the control lever arm.

Locking of the lock is achieved by displacing the working member into its passive position so that the control lever can no longer be brought into engagement with the working member to move the slider element out of the notches of the catch elements. Due to this arrangement, it is not possible to cause unlocking of the lock by the use of force.

Furthermore, by arranging for the retaining member to be lineariy slidable towards and away from the catch elements, the engagement of this retaining member in the notches of the catch elements takes place in a more suitable manner.

Two forms of motor vehicle door lock embodying the invention will now be particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the first form of lock; Figure 2 shows a modification of the Figure 1 lock; Figure 3 illustrates a striker member intended to cooperate with the Figure 1 lock; and Figure 4 is a perspective view of the second form of lock.

As shown in Figure 1, the first form of motor vehicle door lock 1 comprises a support structure 2 constituted by a flat metal plate provided with two upstanding ears 3, 4 lying in a plane perpendicular to that of the said plate 2.

A casing 2a of plastics material is secured to the metal plate 2 to form therewith an enclosed housing which is intended to be mounted on the free edge of the door of a motor vehicle.

The two ears 3, 4, project from a common edge of the plate 2 and this edge is formed with a notch 5 which is intended to receive a striker member 6 (see Figure 3) mounted on the fixed structure of the vehicle. The support plate 2 and the striker member 6 are mounted in such a way that, upon closing of the door of the vehicle, the striker member 6 is disposed within the notch 5 with its axis perpendicular to the plane of the plate 2.

Two catch elements 9 and 10 are mounted on the metal plate 2 for pivotal movement about two parallel axes 7, 8 between open and closed positions. Upon closing of the vehicle door, the catch elements 9, 10 are arranged to be moved by engagement with the striker member 6 from their open position into either a first or a second position depending on whether the door is partially or fully closed; in either closure position of the door the elements 8 and 9 cooperate with the said striker member 6 to hold the door in position.In a manner to be described hereinafter, the catch elements 9, 10 can be locked in position to lock the door in either its partially or fully closed position: the lock can thus assume an open state, a partially-closed state or fully closed state in correspondence to the position of the vehicle door and, in addition, will be either in an unlocked or a locked condition.

The elements 9, 10 have respective recesses 11, 12 the walls of which are arranged to come into contact with the striker member 6 in either closed state of the lock. Between the two catch elements 9, 10 there is interposed a spring 13 which is wound spirally both in correspondence with the axis 7 and in correspondence with the axis 8. The two ends of the spring 13 are fixed to the two catch elements 9, 1 0 respectively. The spring 13 urges the two catch elements 9, 1 0 to rotate in opposite senses towards their open position in which their recesses 11, 12 face toward the exterior of the lock.

A slider element 14 is slidably mounted on the support structure 2 midway between the pivot axes 7 and 8 for movement in a direction perpendicular to the plane containing the two pivot axes 7,8. The slider element 14 is urged into contact with the side edges of the two catch elements 9, 10, by a helical spring 1 5 which is interposed between this slider element 14 and the support structure 2. Each of the elements 9 and 10 is provided with a pair of notches 1 6, 1 7 in which the slider element 14 engages to define the positions of the catch elements 9, 10 corresponding to the two closed states of the lock.In particular, when the slider element 14 is engaged in the notches 17, the two catch elements 9, 10 are maintained, against the action of the spring 13, in their first closure position corresponding to the partially closed state of the lock. When, however, the slider element 14 is engaged in the notches 16, the two catch elements 9, 10 are maintained, still against the action of the spring 1 3, in their second closure position (which is that illustrated in Figure 1) corresponding to the fully closed state of the lock.

The lock 1 further comprises a control lever 1 8 provided with three arms 19, 21 and 31. The free end of the arm 1 9 is intended to be connected by means of a mechanical linkage of known type with a handle disposed on the outside of the door of the motor vehicle. The control lever 18 is pivoted on the metal plate 2 about an axis 20 which is perpendicular to this plate. The arm 21 of the lever 18 is arranged to engage a pin 22 slidably mounted in a slot 23 formed in the slider element 14. The slot 23 extends in a direction perpendicular to the direction of sliding of the slider element 14.As a result, upon rotation of the control lever 1 8 in a sense operative to press the arm 21 against the pin 22, the resulting displacement of the pin 22 in a direction parallel to the direction of sliding of the slider element 14 causes a corresponding displacement of the slider element 14.

The control lever 1 8 is provided with a spring 24 so arranged as to oppose the pressing of the arm 21 against the pin 22. The pin 22 is integral with a connector link 25 and is disposed at one end of this link. The opposite end of the connector link 25 is pivoted on a lever 26 about an axis perpendicular to the metal plate 2. The lever 26 is pivoted on the metal plate 2 about an axis 27 perpendicular to this plate. Interposed between the lever 26 and the metal plate 2 is a hairpin spring 28 which by an over-centre action tends to maintain the pin 22 against one or the other end of the slot 23. One end 29 of the lever 26 is connected by means of a mechanical linkage of known type with the usual rotatable lock cylinder disposed on the outside of the door of the motor vehicle and operable by means of a key.The end of the lever 26 which is opposte the end 29 is connected by means of a transmission lever 30 pivoted on the ear 4 with a mechanical linkage which leads to the usual push button for controlling the locking of the lock (this push button being disposed on the part of the door which faces the interior of the motor vehicle).

The third arm 31 of the control lever 18 is so arranged that its free end is engageable with an arm 32 of a lever 33. The lever 33 is pivoted on the ear 3 and has a second arm 34 which is connected by means of a mechanical linkage of known type to the door-opening handle located on the inside of the motor vehicle.

The catch elements 9, 1 0 and the control lever 18 are pivoted on the metal plate 2 by means of hollow cylindrical bushes 35 through which fixing screws can be inserted to secure the support structure 2 onto the door of the motor vehicle.

The three pivoting points associated with the catch elements 9, 10 and the control lever 1 8 thus coincide with the three fixing points of the support structure 2 on the door of the motor vehicle.

The striker member of the lock 1 is constituted by a cylindrical pin 6 (see Figure 3). The cylindrical pin 6 comprises an inner metal bush 36 which coaxially mounts an annular element 37 of elastomeric material the annular element 37 externally mounts a resilient element 38 constituted by a curved plate spring formed, for example, by longitudinally slitting a tubular element in correspondence with one of its generatrices. In its non-deformed condition, the resilient element 38 bounds in cross-section a greater area than that defined by the two recesses 11, 12 in the closed positions of the catch elements 9, 10. As a result, the striker member 6 is firmly held between the two catch elements 9, 10 in their closed positions.For reasons of structured strength, the striker pin 6 is interposed between two parallel plates 39, 40. Between the plates 39, 40 there is also interposed a second bush 41. The bushes 36, 41 are intended to be traversed by fixing screws which serve to secure the striker member onto the fixed structure of the motor vehicle.

The two catch elements 9, 1 0 are provided adjacent their notches 1 7 with respective cam surfaces 9a, 1 Oa arranged to guide the slider element 14 towards its position of engagement in the said notches 17 during the movement of the catch elements 9, 10 towards their closure positions.

The operation of the lock shown in Figures 1 to 3 will now be described.

When, upon closing of the door of the motor vehicle, the striker member 6 enters into contact with the walls of the recesses 11, 12 in the two catch elements 9, 1 0, these catch elements turn about their pivot axes 7, 8 against the action of the spring 1 3 and move towards their first closure position. In this condition, the slider element 14 is maintained in contact with the cam surfaces 9a, 1 Oa of the two catch elements 9, 10 by the helical spring 1 5. As soon as the notches 17 of the catch elements 9, 10 have moved round to face the slider element 14, the helical spring 15 causes a snap engagement of the slider element in these notches.In this state of the lock, the slider element 14 prevents a return of the catch elements 9, 10 towards their open position under the urging of the spring 13.

Upon continued movement of the striker member 6 into the notch 5 of the support plate 2 as a result of the door being fully closed, the slider element 14 snaps into the notches 16 of the catch elements 9, 10 and secures these elements in their second closure positions corresponding to the fully closed state of the lock 1.

Subsequent opening of the door of the motor vehicle can be achieved either by operating the door handle disposed outside the vehicle or by operating the door handle on the inside of the vehicle. In both cases, by means of the action exerted respectively on the arms 19,31 of the control lever 18, this lever is caused to rotate about its point of pivoting on the support structure 2 (the sense of this rotation being clockwise as viewed in Figure 1). This rotation causes the arm 21 of the lever 18 to press against the pin 22 integral with the connector link 25.As a result, the pin 22 is displaced in a direction substantially parallel to the sliding direction of the slider element 14 so that following the abutment of the pin 22 against the walls of the element 14 which delimit the slot 23, this pin 22 causes the slider element 14 to disengage from the notches of the catch elements 9, 10. As soon as the slider element 14 disengages the notches 1 6, 1 7, the spring 1 3 returns the two catch elements 9, 1 0 into their open positions allowing the opening of the door.

The locking and unlocking of the lock 1 is achieved either by acting on the end 29 of the lever 26 by operating the externally-disposed rotatable lock cylinder, or by acting on the opposite end of the lever 26 by operation of the control push button disposed within the motor vehicle. In both cases the lever 26 is caused to rotate about its pivot 27. If the lever 26 is in the position illustrated in Figure 1 (unlocked condition of the lock), locking of the lock is achieved by causing the lever 26 to rotate in a sense such as to move the pin 22 from its position at one end of the slot 23 into contact with the opposite end of the slot 23. In this position, the pin 22 is no longer within reach of the arm 21 of the control lever 18 which can thus no longer cause it to displace the slider element 14; as a result, the control lever 1 8 now has no effect when it is turned. To unlock the lock, the lever 26 is rotated in the opposite sense to move the pin 22 back to the end of the slot 23 where it can be engaged by the arm 21.

The modification of the lock shown in Figure 2 relates to the case in which the lock is provided with a security device (usually termed "childproof lock") for preventing the opening of the door when the handle disposed with in the motor vehicle is operated. In this case, the lock 1 includes a lever 42 provided with an abutment tooth 43 which can be engaged in a notch 44 of the lever 33 to prevent rotation of this lever when the door handle within the vehicle is acted upon.

The second form of lock (Figure 4) is similar to the first form except that the slot 23, rather than being formed in the slider element 14, is formed in the connector link 25, whilst the pin 22, instead of being integral with the connector link 25, is rigidly connected to the slider element 14. In this case, when the lock is in its unlocked condition a tab 21a of the arm 21 is engageable with one end of the connector link 25 to cause this link to rotate about its point of pivoting on the lever 26.

Such a rotation of the connector link 25 causes a linear movement of the pin 22 and thus of the slider element 14 in a direction operative to disengage the element 14 from the notches of the catch elements 9, 10.

Although the slider element 14 is shown in Figures 1 and 4 as being slidably mounted in guides integral with the plate 2, these guides can -advantageously be formed in the plastics material casing 2a. The slider element 14 will be mounted within its guides with a certain play in the transverse direction. This play permits automatic centering of the two catch elements 9, 10 relative to the slider element 14 in cases where these catch elements are slightly out of their intended position due to inaccuracies in their manufacture.

Claims

1. A motor vehicle door lock comprising a support structure intended to be mounted on the door of a motor vehicle; a pair of catch elements mounted on the support structure for pivotal movement about respective parallel axes between an open position, a first closure position, and a second closure position; first resilient means arranged to urge both the catch elements towards their open position; a striker member intended to be mounted on the vehicle body in a position such that upon closing of the vehicle door the striker member engages the said two catch elements and causes them to pivot from their open position into their first or second closure position depending on whether the door is partially or fully closed, the catch elements when in either closure position cooperating with the striker member to hold the door in its corresponding state of closure; a retaining member operative upon movement of the catch elements into either said closure position to maintain these elements in this position by engagement in notches formed in both the catch elements, the retaining member being constituted by a slider element mounted for linear sliding movement in a predetermined direction over the support structure towards and away from the catch elements; second resilient means arranged to urge the slider element towards the catch elements whereby to resist disengagement of this element from the notches of the catch elements when engaged therein; cam means associated with the catch elements and serving to guide the slider element into engagement with the notches of the catch elements upon closure of the vehicle door; disengagement means operable against the urging of said second resilient means to disengage the slider element from the notches of the catch elements whereby to permit these elements to return to their open position and enable opening of the vehicle door; and locking means selectively operable to set the lock into an unlocked or locked condition in the latter of which said disengagement means is rendered inoperative to effect disengagement of the slider element from the catch element notches; said disengagement means including a control lever constituted by a body separate from the slider element and pivoted on the support structure about an axis parallel to the axes of pivoting of the catch elements, and a working member displaceable by the locking means transversely to said predetermined direction between active and passive positions respectively corresponding to the unlocked and locked conditions of the lock, the working member being coupled to the slider element for movement therewith in said predetermined direction and said control lever including arm which upon rotation of the lever is arranged to contact the said working member when in its active position whereby to enable the slider element to be displaced from the catch element notches by control lever rotation, the working member in its passive position being out of reach of the control lever arm.

2. A lock according to Claim 1, wherein the said working member is constituted by a pin element slidable in a direction perpendicular to its axis in a slot formed in the slider element, said slot extending in a direction perpendicular to the said predetermined direction of sliding of the slider element, and said locking means comprising a lever system operable to displace the pin element within the said slot between its active and passive positions.

3. A lock according to Claim 1, wherein the said working member is constituted by a connector link formed with a slot extending in a direction perpendicular to the said predetermined direction of sliding of the slider element, the slider element carrying with a pin element which is rigidly connected thereto and is slidably located in the said slot, and the locking means comprising a lever system operable to displace the said connector link between its active and passive positions.

4. A lock according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the two catch elements lie in the same plane.

5. A lock according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the two catch elements and the control lever are pivoted on the support structure by means of respective bushes the support structure being fixable onto the motor vehicle door by means of screws inserted through said bushes.

6. A lock according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said second resilient means is constituted by a helical spring reacting between the slider element and the support structure.

7. A motor-vehicle door lock substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.

8. A motor-vehicle door lock substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 3 of the accompanying drawings as modified by Figure 2 and/or Figure 4.