JP2005068722A - Door latch device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve waterproofness, antitheft property, and installation property, and enable manual operation of a latch body even when the latch body can not be operated by a drive source due to electrical troubles or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The door latch device for a vehicle is provided with a latch body 5 having a gearing means restricting an opening/closing body in the closed state and an actuator 6 which is attached to the latch housing 7 of the latch body 5 and can operate the gearing means. The actuator 6 has an actuator housing 13 fixed to the latch housing 7, a drive source 14 to be contained in the actuator housing 13, and an open lever 16 releasing the gearing means by contact of the contact part 16a with the disengaging part 9a of the gearing means. The open lever 16 has a manually operatable operation part 16c and is contained in the actuator housing 13 to expose the only operation part 16c from the operation hole 13c provided in the actuator housing 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle door latch device including a latch body and an actuator.

BACKGROUND ART A vehicle door latch device includes a latch body that can restrain an opening / closing body such as a tailgate in a closed state, and an actuator that can operate the latch body by an electric drive source such as a motor.
In addition, if the actuator drive source becomes inoperable due to a failure in the electrical system of the vehicle and the operation of the latch body by the drive source becomes impossible, use a predetermined tool such as a screwdriver to There is one in which an operation of a latch body can be performed by manually operating an operating member that is rotated by a drive source from the inside of the vehicle (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-90158 A

  Patent Document 1 discloses that an operating member for transmitting an operation force of a drive source to a latch body is provided outside an actuator housing that houses the drive source. Adheres to the working member and causes rust. Further, the actuating member is easily operated from the outside of the vehicle due to an illegal act, which is not preferable in terms of anti-theft performance. Furthermore, when the door latch device is assembled to the tailgate, the actuating member provided on the outside of the actuator housing interferes with the mounting hole of the tailgate, and the assemblability is poor. Therefore, the structure is extremely disadvantageous in terms of waterproofness, anti-theft property, and ease of assembly.

  In view of the above-described conventional problems, the present invention aims to improve waterproofness, anti-theft property, and ease of assembly, and even if the operation of the latch body by the drive source becomes impossible due to a failure of the electrical system, etc. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle door latch device that can easily operate a latch body.

According to the present invention, the above problem is solved as follows.
(1) A latch body having engagement means for restraining the opening / closing body in a closed state by engaging with a striker, and an actuator attached to the latch housing of the latch body and capable of operating the engagement means. The actuator housing fixed to the latch housing, the drive source accommodated in the actuator housing, and the release operation by the drive source, whereby the contact portion comes into contact with the release portion of the meshing means, and In the vehicle door latch device having an open lever for releasing the meshing means from the striker, the open lever has an operation portion that can be manually operated, and only the operation portion is exposed from an operation hole provided in the actuator housing. Connect the open lever to the actuator housing. House in the ging.

(2) In the above item (1), the operating portion of the open lever is protruded from the operating hole of the actuator housing.

(3) In the above item (1) or (2), the contact portion of the open lever is formed in a crank shape so as to contact the release portion of the meshing means.

(4) In any one of the above items (1) to (3), an actuating member that can operate the engaging means other than the operating portion of the open lever is not provided outside the actuator housing.

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) According to the invention described in claim 1, even if the drive source of the actuator falls into a malfunctioning or inoperable state due to a failure of the electric system, etc. The opening / closing body can be opened by operating the means.
Further, since the open lever is accommodated in the actuator housing, it can be made excellent in waterproofness and anti-theft property.

(2) According to the invention described in claim 2, the operating portion of the open lever can be easily operated manually.

(3) According to the invention described in claim 3, the operation of the open lever can be reliably transmitted to the release portion of the meshing means.

(4) According to the invention described in claim 4, since no actuating member other than the operating portion of the open lever is provided outside the actuator housing, it is possible to further improve the waterproof property and the anti-theft property and to assemble the actuator. It can be made excellent in properties.

  FIG. 1 is a front view of a door latch device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. In FIG. 2, the left side is “rear” and the right side is “front”.

  The door latch device (1) is attached to the tailgate (2), which is an open / close body pivotably attached to the upper part of the rear portion of the vehicle body, and is attached to the vehicle body (3) side when the tailgate (2) is closed. A latch body (5) having engagement means that can engage with the provided striker (4) and restrain the tailgate (2) in a closed state, and an actuator (6) that can operate the engagement means of the latch body (5) ).

  The latch body (5) includes a metal latch housing (7) fixed to the lower panel portion (2a) of the tailgate (2), and the latch housing (7) includes a concave accommodating portion (7a), A pair of left and right mounting pieces (7b) provided on the left and right upper portions of the accommodating portion (7a) and fastened to the outer surface (lower surface) of the lower panel portion (2a) of the tailgate (2) by a plurality of bolts (not shown). ) (7b).

  In the accommodating portion (7a) of the latch housing (7), a latch (8) that constitutes a meshing means and can be engaged with the striker (4) when the tailgate (2) is closed, and a tailgate (2 ) Is engaged with the latch (8) when closed, thereby preventing the latch (8) from rotating in the opening direction and retaining the engagement between the latch (8) and the striker (4). 9) is pivotally supported by the respective support shafts (10) and (11) facing in the vertical direction.

  The actuator (6) is a synthetic resin actuator housing (13) fixed to the latch housing (7) via a plate (12) fixed to the upper surface of the mounting piece (7b) (7b) of the latch housing (7). In the actuator housing (13), a worm (14), which is a drive source, is pivotally supported by a support shaft (15b) facing in the front-rear direction and provided on the output shaft of the motor (14). A worm wheel (15) meshing with 14a) and an open lever (16) having a gear portion (16a) meshing with a small gear (15a) provided on the worm wheel (15) are accommodated.

  The actuator housing (13) is provided on the plate (12) between three substantially L-shaped claw portions (13d) provided integrally with the front side, that is, one side surface portion (13b) facing the vehicle interior side. The latch housing of the latch body (5) is fitted by fitting the left and right side edges of the raised piece (12a) and fastening it to the standing piece (12a) of the plate (12) with two screws (18). (7) is fixed.

  The open lever (16) is pivotally supported by a support shaft (13a) having a substantially central portion provided in the actuator housing (13) facing in the front-rear direction so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction. The gear portion (16a) is provided, and the lower portion is provided with a crank-shaped contact portion (16b) that can contact an upward release portion (9a) provided at the rear portion of the locking plate (9). ing. Further, below the gear portion (16a), an operation portion that protrudes forward from an arc-shaped operation hole (13c) facing in the left-right direction provided on one side surface portion (13b) of the actuator housing (13). (16c) is provided.

  Since the contact portion (16b) of the open lever (16) has a crank shape, the release portion (9a) of the locking plate (9) is located behind the actuator housing (13), that is, the other side surface portion (13e) facing the vehicle exterior. Even if it is arranged closer, the abutment part (16b) of the open lever (16) arranged closer to the one side part (13b) of the actuator housing (13) is used as the release part of the locking plate (9). The operation of the open lever (16) can be reliably transmitted to the locking plate (9) by reliably abutting on (9a).

The operation hole (13c) has an arc shape centered on the support shaft (13a). In addition, a buffer member (17) formed of an elastic body such as rubber is externally fitted to the operation portion (16c) of the open lever (16). The shock-absorbing member (17) contacts the left end edge of the operation hole (13c) when the open lever (16) is in the non-operating position shown in FIG. 1, and is released from the non-operating position (clockwise in FIG. 1). When a predetermined amount of rotation is performed, the amount of rotation of the open lever (16) is restricted by contacting the right end edge of the operation hole (13c).
In the present embodiment, the amount of rotation of the open lever (16) is regulated by providing the buffer member (17) in the operating portion (16c) of the open lever (16). ) Is not necessarily required.
When the buffer member (17) is not required, another buffer member is provided on the worm wheel (15), and this buffer member is brought into contact with a stopper portion provided at an appropriate position of the actuator housing (13), so that the worm wheel By restricting the turning amount of (15), the turning amount of the open lever (16) is restricted.

  The operation portion (16c) is provided in the vicinity of the gear portion (16a) away from the support shaft (13a) of the actuator housing (13), so that the operation in the left-right direction is easy and one side surface portion (13b ) Protrudes forward from the operation hole (13c) provided in the vehicle, thereby enabling manual operation without using any tool or the like from the inside of the vehicle.

  The open lever (16) is accommodated in the actuator housing (13) so that only the operation portion (16c) is exposed from the operation hole (13c) of the actuator housing (13). The release portion (9a) of the locking plate (9) is covered with an actuator housing (13) so as not to be exposed to the outside from the door latch device (1). As a result, the actuator housing (13) has no operating member that can operate the locking plate (9) other than the operating portion (16c) of the open lever (16) outside the actuator housing (13).

  The door latch device (1) is attached to the tailgate (2) by moving the actuator (6) assembled to the latch body (5) from the outside (lower side) of the lower end (2a) of the tailgate (2) to the lower end. The mounting piece (7b) of the latch housing (7) is inserted into the tailgate (2) through the mounting opening (2c) provided in the portion (2a) and the lower end (2a) of the tailgate (2). It is performed by fixing with bolts on the outside.

  In this way, the open lever (16) is accommodated in the actuator housing (13), the release portion (9a) of the locking plate (9) is covered by the actuator housing (13), and further outside the actuator housing (13). Since this is a configuration that does not have any operating member other than the operating portion (16c) of the open lever (16), it is extremely effective for waterproofing, anti-theft and miniaturization. In addition, when attaching the door latch device (1) to the tailgate (2), there is no actuating member provided outside the actuator housing (13), so the actuating member is used for attaching the tailgate (2) during assembly. There is no interference with the edge of the opening (2c), and the ease of assembly can be improved.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment according to the present invention will be described. When an operation switch (not shown) formed by a touch sensor provided on the outer panel (2b) of the tailgate (2) is operated, a motor (14) of the actuator (13) is moved by a control device (not shown). When power is supplied, the motor (14) rotates in a predetermined direction. When the motor (14) rotates, the open lever (16) rotates in the release direction from the non-operating position via the worm (14a), the worm wheel (15), the small gear (15a), and the gear portion (16a). Be moved. The contact portion (16b) contacts the side surface of the release portion (9a) of the locking plate (9), and is disengaged from the latch (8) from the engagement position where the locking plate (9) is engaged with the latch (8). Operate in the release direction. Thereby, the engagement between the latch (8) and the striker (4) is released, and the tailgate (2) can be opened.

  For example, when the drive of the motor (14) of the actuator (6) becomes impossible due to a failure of the electric system, etc., the lid provided on the interior trim (not shown) of the tailgate (2) from the interior of the vehicle Open the body (not shown), insert your hand through this part, and manually operate the operating part (16c) of the open lever (16) protruding from the operating hole (13c) of the actuator housing (13) in the release direction. Move. Thereby, the open lever (16) can be rotated in the release direction from the inoperative position to release the locking plate (9) and open the tailgate (2).

In addition, although the door latch apparatus in this invention demonstrated what was applied to the tailgate, it is applicable also to opening-and-closing bodies other than a tailgate, for example, a door, a slide door, etc.
Further, although the operation portion (16c) is convex so as to protrude from the operation hole (13c) of the actuator housing (13), the operation portion may be concave instead. In this case, the operation portion is only exposed without protruding outward from the operation hole (13c). When the operation unit is manually operated, the tip of a driver or the like is inserted into the operation unit (16c) through the operation hole (13c), and the operation unit is moved in the release direction.

It is a front view of the door latch device concerning the present invention. It is the II-II line longitudinal cross-sectional view in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

(1) Door latch device
(2) Tailgate (opening / closing body)
(2a) Lower panel
(2b) Outer panel
(2c) Mounting opening
(3) Body
(4) striker
(5) Latch body
(6) Actuator
(7) Latch housing
(7a) Housing part
(7b) Mounting piece (8) Latch (meshing means)
(9) Locking plate (meshing means)
(9a) Release part
(10) (11) Spindle
(12) Plate
(12a) Standing piece
(13) Actuator housing
(13a) Spindle
(13b) One side
(13c) Operation hole
(13d) Claw
(13e) Other side
(14) Motor (drive source)
(14a) Warm
(15) Worm wheel
(15a) Small gear
(15b) Spindle
(16) Open lever
(16a) Gear part
(16b) Contact part
(16c) Operation unit
(17) Buffer member
(18) Screw

Claims (4)

A latch body having a meshing means for restraining the opening / closing body in a closed state by engaging with a striker; and an actuator attached to a latch housing of the latch body and operable for the meshing means, An actuator housing fixed to the latch housing, a drive source accommodated in the actuator housing, and a release operation performed by the drive source, so that the abutment portion abuts on the release portion of the engagement means so that the engagement means In the vehicle door latch device having an open lever to be released from the striker,
The open lever has an operation portion that can be manually operated, and the open lever is housed in the actuator housing so that only the operation portion is exposed from an operation hole provided in the actuator housing. Door latch device.   2. The vehicle door latch device according to claim 1, wherein the operation portion of the open lever is protruded from the operation hole of the actuator housing.   The vehicle door latch device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the contact portion of the open lever is formed in a crank shape so as to be able to contact the release portion of the meshing means. The vehicle door latch device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an actuating member capable of operating a meshing means other than the operating portion of the open lever is not provided outside the actuator housing.

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