GB2345723A

GB2345723A - Lock for automobile fittings

Info

Publication number: GB2345723A
Application number: GB0001053A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dominique Benoit
Original assignee: MGI Coutier SA
Current assignee: Akwel SA
Priority date: 1999-01-18
Filing date: 2000-01-17
Publication date: 2000-07-19
Anticipated expiration: 2020-01-17
Also published as: FR2788549A1; GB0001053D0; GB2345723B; FR2788549B1; DE10001659A1

Abstract

A lock for a door lock, boot lock or a foldable seat back, comprises a housing with an opening 18 in the direction of the staple. A latch 2 pivots on an axis 6 of the housing 1 and is biassed by a spring. A catch 3 pivots 7 with a spring 5 and comprises a ramp 32 and a hook. The lock has a release member 10 to pull the catch 3 and release the latch 2. The end of the second arm 22 of the latch 2 comprises a hook 25 to engage in the closed position of the lock, the edge 87 of the housing and to retain the latch 2 transversely with respect to the catch 3.

Description

2345723 LOCK FOR AUTOMOBILE FITTINGS The present invention relates to a

lock for automobile fittings, such as a door lock, boot lock or lock for a 5 foldable seat back.

A known lock comprises:

a housing, of which one large side is in the form of an open U-shape with the opening in the direction of the staple in order to receive this staple, a U-shaped latch mounted so as to pivot on an axis borne by the housing, the latch being biassed by a spring into the open position in which it releases the opening of the housing, the staple passing into the housing and pushing on the f irst a= of the latch to tilt it into the closed position for which the second arm closes the opening of the housing to retain the staple, a catch mounted so as to pivot in the housing with a spring acting on the catch to push it towards its locking position, the catch comprising a ramp and a hook permitting the latch to tilt towards its position for retaining the staple, by passing under the catch and raising it, the hook of the catch being hooked, at the end of the movement, behind the latch in order to lock this latch in the position for closing the opening of the housing, a release member to pull the catch into the open position, releasing the latch.

2 The known lock has, at the upper end of its second arm, a hollow opening onto the side and onto the top and cooperating with a complementary raised and hollowed formation provided at the end of the catch, in front of the hook of the catch. Howeverl this arrangement is difficult to produce and the normal hooking of the catch is difficult to implement; this difficulty also exists during opening.

The present invention aims to overcome these difficulties and proposes developing a lock of the type defined above which will be particularly simple to produce and which will function effectively to ensure protection against the violent forces occurring in the event of a shock in the transverse direction.

To this end, the invention relates to a lock of this type, characterised in that the end of the second arm of the latch comprises a hook to cover, in the closed position, the edge of the housing and to retain the latch transversely with respect to the catch against a violent force exerted on the lock or a part thereof in the transverse direction of the housing.

The hook covering the edge of the housing transversely fixes the latch to the housing in addition to the connection ensured by the axis of the latch. The catch being itself locked transversely in the housing, the latch is unable to escape from the catch and to open, even under the effect of a very violent transverse force exerted on the housing or the latch or even another piece of the housing.

In a particularly simple manner the hook is a curved tab at the end of the second arm of the latch. This hook can also be formed by a rivet-head pin and in this case the edge of the housing comprises a cut-out receiving the body of the pin, of 3 which the larger-diameter rivet-head part bears on the outside of the edge of the cut-out. This pin may be f ixed to the latch by rivetting.

The present invention will be described hereinunder in 5 more detail with the aid of the attached drawings in which:

- Figure 1 is an exploded view of one embodiment of a lock in accordance with the invention, - Figure 2 is a perspective view of the lock of Figure 1 viewed in the same direction, - Figure 3 shows the lock of Figures 1 and 2 from the other side, - Figure 4 is a side view of the lock, - Figure 5 is a view of the right of the lock of Figure 4, - Figure 6 is a side view of the lock without the housing cover.

According to Figure 1, the invention relates, according to the illustrated embodiment, to a lock composed of a housing 1 receiving a latch 2 and a catch 3. A spring 4 acts upon the latch 2 and a spring 5 acts upon the catch 3. The latch 2 and its spring 4 are borne by an axis 6 fixed to the housing 1 and the catch 3 with its spring 5 are borne by an axis 7. The housing 1 is completed by a cover 8 which receives one of the ends of the axis 6, 7, of which the other end is mounted in the housing 1. Finally, the cover 8 comprises an abutment 9 for the staple.

The housing 1 is composed of a large side in the shape of a U with two arms 11, 12 and a transverse part 13 as well as folded parts 14, 15, 16, 17 forming a part of the small sides of the housing. The part 15 constitutes a fork 151 to receive the joining piece 10 of the actuating cable of the 4 catch 3.

The arm 11 comprises an orifice 111 serving as a bearing for the end of the axis 6 of the latch 2 as well as a curved rib 112 centred on the orifice 111 and ser-ving as a means for 5 guiding and end-of-travel abutment for the latch 2.

The other arm 12 similarly comprises an orifice 121 to serve as a bearing for the end of the axis 7 of the catch 3 and a curved rib 122, in the form of an arc of a circle, centred on the axis of the orifice 121 and serving as a guide and end-of-travel abutment for the catch 3.

The two arms 11, 12 and the transverse part 13 form an opening 18 receiving the staple, not shown.

This opening 18 is orientated in the direction of the staple, which means that the lock and the staple perform a relative movement towards or away from each other in the direction of the opening 18. When the lock is fitted on a part which can move about an axis, such as a foldable seat back or a door, for example, a boot lid, the staple is fixedly attached to the bodywork and the lock is engaged with its opening 18 on the staple; this opening is then closed by the latch 2 which is itself locked by the catch 3.

The latch 2 is U-shaped with a first arm 21 and a second arm 22. The body is provided with an orifice 23 receiving the axis 6 for mounting the latch in a pivoting manner. The two 2S arms 21, 22 form an opening 24 between them. In the nonoperational position, the latch 2 is inclined substantially in the horizontal direction or to the front with respect to the "vertical" position (illustrated in Figure 1). In this position, when the lock approaches the staple, the staple passes into the opening 24 at the same time as it enters the opening 18 of the housing 1. The lock and staple moving towards each other causes the latch 2 to pivot, the staple pressing on the side of the opening 24 corresponding to the arm 21. This pressing action causes pivoting of the latch 2 and its arm 22, which then closes the opening 18 of the 5 housing 1.

The axis 6 is composed of a small-diameter part 61 to receive the turns of the spring 4 and of a part with a slightly larger diameter 62 which is housed in the opening 23 of the latch 2. Finally, the ends of the axis comprise parts 63, 64, one of which is housed in the orifice forming the bearing ill of the housing 1 and the other is housed in the receiver of the cover 8.

The spring 4 is terminated by two arms of which one 41 cooperates with the latch 2 and the other 42 bears in the housing 1. The spring 4 has a tendency to tilt the latch 2 in the clockwise direction in Figure 1 (towards its open position).

The second arm 22 of the latch 2 comprises a ramp 221 intended to cooperate with the catch 3 to raise this catch and permit the latch 2 to be pushed under the catch 3 by the movement of the lock and staple towards each other. In front of the ramp 221, the arm 22 comprises an abutment surface to cooperate with the catch 3. The end of the arm 22 also has a hook 25 in the form of a rivet-head pin having a body 251 and a head 252. The length of the body 251 corresponds substantially to the thickness of the cover 8, as will be shown hereinunder.

The catch 3 is in the form of a lever with an orifice 31 to receive the axis 7. The front end of the catch 3 comprises a ramp 32 and a hook 33. The ramp 32 is intended to cooperate with the ramp 221 of the arm 22 of the latch 2 and the hook 6 33 is intended to come behind the abutment surface 222 of the latch 2 to keep it locked.

The axis 7 of the catch 3 comprises a small-diameter part 71 to receive the spring 5 and a part 72 of a larger diameter, which cooperates with the orifice 31 of the catch 3. The ends 73, 74 of the axis 7 are free to become housed in the orifice 121 of the housing 1 and in a corresponding receiver of the cover S.

The spring 5 comprises an end 51 cooperating with the catch 3 and an end 52 coming into abutment against the housing 1. The turns of the spring 5 are engaged on the part 71 of the axis 7 and the spring 5 has a tendency to push the catch 3 also in the clockwise direction, ie downwards in Figure 1, in order to cover the latch 2.

The cover 8 of the lock comprises a lower part edged by an edge 81 to provide rigidity. This lower part is provided with an orifice 82 constituting the second bearing to receive the end 64 of the axis 6. In the upper part, the cover 8 has an orifice 83 receiving the end 74 of the axis 7. The cover 8 comprises a free part 84 corresponding at least to the opening 18 of the housing 1 in order not to limit this opening. Finally, the bottom of the cover 8 receives, in its part 85, the abutment 90 clipped by its projection 91 into the orifice 86 of the cover 8.

At its front edge 87, the cover 8 comprises an opening 871 to receive the hook (rivet-head pin) 25. The diameter of this opening 871 corresponds to the diameter of the shaft 251 of the pin 25 so that the head 252 covers this opening. The pin 25 or hook is thus held in the transverse direction, ie the direction perpendicular (or substantially perpendicular) to the large side of the housing 1, ie to the bottom 11, 12, 7 13 of the housing 1 or to the surface formed by the cover 8. Figure 2 shows the assembled lock, the latch being locked by the catch, of which the hook 33 is hooked against the abutment 222 of the latch 2 and the pin 25 is engaged with its shaft 251 in the opening 871 of the cover 8, the head 252 lying over the cover around the opening.

Figure 3 is a view from the other side of the housing, the latch and the catch being in the same closed position as in Figure 2.

The side view of Figure 4 shows the lock in its closed position. The same is true of Figure 5. In these various figures the same components as those described above bear the same references and they will not be described again.

Figure 6 shows the lock in the closed position, without the cover 8. This figure shows the hooking arrangement between the catch 3 and the upper end of the second arm 22 of the latch 2 also with the hook/rivet-head pin 25 position.

8

Claims

1. A lock for automobile fittings, comprising:

a housing, of which one side is in the form of an open U-shape with an opening for receiving a staple with which the lock engages in use, a U-shaped latch mounted so as to pivot on the housing about an axis, the latch being biassed by a spring into an open position in which it opens the opening of the housing, the staple in use of the lock passing into the housing and pushing on a first arm of the latch to tilt it into a closed position in which a second arm of the latch closes the opening of the housing to retain the staple,_ a catch mounted so as to pivot in the housing with a spring acting on the catch to push it towards a locking position thereof, the catch comprising a ramp and a hook permitting the latch to tilt towards its position for retaining the staple, by passing under the catch and raising it, the hook of the catch being hooked, at the end of the movement, behind the latch in order to lock the latch in the position for closing the opening of the housing, a release member to pull the catch into the open position, releasing the latch wherein the end of the second arm of the latch comprises a portion to cover, in the closed position, an edge of the housing and to retain the latch transversely with 9 respect to the catch against a violent force exerted on the lock or a part thereof in the transverse direction of the housing.

2. A lock according to claim 1, wherein the covering portion of the latch is a curved tab at the end of the second arm of the latch.

3. A lock according to claim 1, wherein the hook covering portion of the latch is a rivet-head pin and the edge of the housing comprises a cut-out receiving the body of the pin of which the rivet-head part bears on the outside of the edge of the cut-out.

4. A lock substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.