JP2014227760A - Door lock system for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a door lock system for a vehicle which can easily unlock a vehicle door.SOLUTION: A door lock system comprises an inside handle lever 20 that is provided on a vehicle door and pulled toward the front side for operation to open the door, a sensor 24 that outputs a prescribed electric signal when the contact/approach of a hand with/to the back side of the inside handle lever 20 is detected, and a lock mechanism 12, which has an engagement member 30 that is provided on the vehicle door and engages with a striker 14 provided on a vehicle body to maintain a locked state, to drive the engagement member 30 in an engagement unlocking direction in response to the electric signal from the sensor 24.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle door lock system, and more particularly, to a vehicle door lock system that changes an locked state to an unlocked state by operating an inside handle provided on a door body.

  A conventional vehicle door lock system basically switches a vehicle door from a locked state to an unlocked state by a mechanical mechanism. This will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram around the door D of an automobile, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a door lock system.

  The conventional vehicle door lock system includes an inside handle assembly 10 and a lock mechanism 12 provided on the door D, and a striker 14 provided on the vehicle body B. The inside handle assembly 10 has an inside handle lever 20 that is pulled to the near side by the user. The inside handle lever 20 is attached to a case-like handle base 18. The inside handle lever 20 is rotatable about a rotation shaft 22 extending in a substantially vertical direction.

  The rotation of the inside handle lever 20 caused by being pulled by the user is transmitted to the lock mechanism 12 via the transmission cable 26 attached to the inside handle lever 20. The lock mechanism 12 is provided with an engagement member 30 that engages with the striker 14 and is connected to the other end of the transmission cable 26. As the inside handle lever 20 is rotated, the transmission cable 26 is pulled, so that the engaging member 30 moves in the disengagement direction and the engagement with the striker 14 is released, whereby the door D is unlocked. Is done. A door lock system having such a configuration is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1.

JP 2010-144337 A

  However, in such a conventional door lock system, in order to perform the unlocking operation, it is necessary to pull the inside handle lever once to the front side, which is troublesome. In addition, it may be difficult for a user with relatively little force, such as an elderly person or a child, to pull the inside handle lever until the door lock is released.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle door lock system that can more easily release the door lock of the vehicle.

  The vehicle door lock system according to the present invention is provided on a door of a vehicle, and detects an inside handle lever that is pulled to the front side when the door is opened and a contact or proximity of a hand to the back surface of the inside handle lever. A lock mechanism including a sensor that outputs a predetermined electrical signal and an engagement member that is provided on a door of the vehicle and that engages with a fixing member provided on a vehicle body to maintain a locked state. And a locking mechanism that drives the engagement member in the disengagement direction in response to the electrical signal.

  In a preferred embodiment, the movement of the inside handle lever is transmitted to the engagement member, so that the engagement member is engaged according to the operation of the inside handle lever regardless of the presence or absence of the electrical signal. A transmission mechanism that drives in the release direction is provided. In another preferred aspect, the lock mechanism drives the engagement member in the disengagement direction according to the electric signal only when the gear state of the vehicle is parking.

  According to the present invention, the door lock can be released if the hand is brought into contact with or close to the back surface of the inside handle lever, so that the door lock of the vehicle can be released more easily than in the prior art.

It is the schematic of the door periphery of a motor vehicle. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of a door lock system. It is a front view of an inside handle assembly. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of another inside handle assembly. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of another inside handle assembly. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the conventional door lock system.

  Hereinafter, a door lock system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view around the door D of an automobile, and FIG. 2 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a door lock system. 3 is a front view of the inside handle assembly 10, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG.

  The vehicle door lock system includes a striker 14 provided on the vehicle body B side, a lock mechanism 12 provided on the door D side, and an inside handle assembly 10 provided on the door D side. The inside handle assembly 10 is an assembly centering on the inside handle lever 20 and includes a case-like handle base 18 in addition to the inside handle lever 20. The handle base 18 is attached to an inner panel (not shown) attached to the inside (vehicle compartment side) of the vehicle door D. The handle base 18 has a recessed shape on the back side, and a finger insertion space is formed between the handle base 18 and the inside handle lever 20.

  The inside handle lever 20 is a lever operated when releasing the door lock from the vehicle interior. The inside handle lever 20 is attached to the handle base 18 so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 22 extending in a substantially vertical direction. A contact sensor 24 for detecting the contact or proximity of a finger is provided on the back surface of the inside handle lever 20, that is, the surface facing the handle base 18. When the contact sensor 24 detects the contact or proximity of a finger, the contact sensor 24 outputs a predetermined electrical signal (hereinafter referred to as “contact signal”) indicating that to the control unit 16 through the electrical wiring 28. As the contact sensor 24, for example, a touch sensor such as a capacitance type, an electromagnetic induction type, a resistance film type, or an infrared sensor that detects the presence or absence of an object can be used as long as it can transmit an electric signal by detecting a finger. The type is not particularly limited. The inside handle lever 20 is usually made of resin. However, when the contact sensor 24 is arranged, as shown in FIG. 4, the inside handle lever 20 is shaped by cutting the thickness of the back of the design. It is desirable to maintain the formability and design quality of the handle lever 20.

  A transmission cable 26 is connected to the inside handle lever 20, and the rotation of the inside handle lever 20 is transmitted to the lock mechanism 12 as a linear motion. The lock mechanism 12 is installed in the vicinity of the end portion of the vehicle door D, and has an engaging member 30 that can be engaged and disengaged with the striker 14. The lock of the vehicle door D is released by releasing the engagement between the engagement member 30 and the striker 14. The other end of the transmission cable 26 is connected to the engagement member 30. When the transmission cable 26 is pulled (when the inside handle lever 20 is pulled to the near side), the engagement between the engagement member 30 and the striker 14 is increased. The lock is released, that is, the door lock is released.

  The lock mechanism 12 is also provided with a drive source (not shown) for driving the engagement member 30, for example, an electromagnetic cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, a motor, and the like. When receiving a predetermined drive signal from the control unit 16, the drive source drives the engagement member 30 in the engagement release direction and releases the door lock. Note that the drive source is in a free state when no power is supplied or when a drive signal is not received. Therefore, even when power is not supplied or when a drive signal is not received, the engagement between the engagement member 30 and the striker 14 can be released according to the movement of the transmission cable 26.

  The striker 14 is a fixed member fixed at a position facing the engagement member 30 in the vehicle body. When the engagement member 30 is engaged with the striker 14, the locked state of the door is maintained.

  The controller 16 is a part that controls driving of each part of the vehicle. A contact signal, a signal indicating the vehicle gear state, and the like are input to the control unit 16. When receiving both the contact signal and the signal indicating that the vehicle gear is parked, the control unit 16 outputs a drive signal indicating disengagement to the lock mechanism 12. As a result, when the vehicle gear is parked and the user's fingers are in contact with or close to the back of the inside handle lever 20, the door lock can be released without pulling the inside handle lever 20. Yes. In other words, when the vehicle gear is in the neutral or traveling state, the door lock is not released even if the finger touches or approaches the contact sensor 24.

  As is clear from the above description, according to the present embodiment, the door lock can be released by bringing a finger into contact with or close to the back surface of the inside handle lever 20 without pulling the inside handle lever 20 toward the front side. As a result, the door lock can be released with a simple operation and a small force, and the operability related to the door lock release can be further improved. In the present embodiment, the contact sensor 24 is provided on the back surface of the inside handle lever 20. Such a position is a position where the user always contacts when opening the door D, but is a position where it is difficult to touch except when the door D is opened. By providing the contact sensor 24 at such a position, the user can operate with the same feeling as the conventional door opening operation, but can prevent an erroneous operation of accidentally contacting the contact sensor 24. Moreover, since the back surface of the inside handle lever 20 is a position where it is difficult to touch the user's eyes, even if the contact sensor 24 is provided at such a position, the design is not impaired.

  In the present embodiment, the engagement member 30 and the striker 14 are engaged according to the movement of the inside handle lever 20 regardless of the presence or absence of the drive signal indicating the engagement release to the lock mechanism 12 and the presence or absence of the contact signal. It can be canceled. Therefore, the door lock can be released even when the contact sensor 24, the drive source, or the like fails. Moreover, in this embodiment, since the door lock cancellation | release according to a contact signal is performed only when a gear is parking, safety | security can be ensured.

  In the description so far, the contact surface of the contact sensor 24 (the back surface of the inside handle lever 20) is a smooth surface without unevenness. However, the contact surface of the contact sensor 24 is uneven as shown in FIG. May be. With this configuration, the user can determine contact with the contact sensor 24 by touch. Further, in the above description, the contact sensor 24 is provided on the back surface of the inside handle lever 20, but the contact sensor 24 is shown in FIG. 7 as long as contact or proximity to the back surface of the inside handle lever 20 can be detected. As shown, it may be provided inside the inside handle lever 20. In this case, the thickness from the contact sensor 24 to the back surface of the inside handle lever 20 is made thin so that the contact sensor 24 can detect the finger with high sensitivity, and the inside of the inside handle lever 20 near the upper end and the lower end is thick. It is desirable that the inner handle lever 20 is formed with a large thickness to ensure the strength of the inside handle lever 20. In addition, since the electric wiring 28 for outputting the contact signal is exposed and deteriorates when it is exposed, as shown in FIG. 4, the inside of the inside handle lever 20 and the vicinity of the rotating shaft 22 are provided. It is desirable to form a wiring passage 29 that extends to the outside, and to draw the wiring passage 29 out of the inside handle lever 20 through the electric wiring 28.

  Further, the vehicle door lock system releases the engagement between the engagement member 30 and the fixing member (the striker 14) at least in response to a detection signal that detects the contact or proximity of a finger to the back surface of the inside handle lever 20. If possible, other configurations may be changed as appropriate. Therefore, for example, the contact signal from the contact sensor 24 may be transmitted directly to the lock mechanism 12 without passing through the control unit 16. Moreover, the position and shape of each part may be changed as appropriate.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Inside handle assembly, 12 Lock mechanism, 14 Striker, 16 Control part, 18 Handle base, 20 Inside handle lever, 22 Rotating shaft, 24 Contact sensor, 26 Transmission cable, 28 Electrical wiring, 30 Engagement member, B Car body, D Door.

Claims (3)

An inside handle lever provided on the door of the vehicle and pulled to the front side when the door is opened;
A sensor that outputs a predetermined electrical signal when detecting the contact or proximity of the hand to the back of the inside handle lever;
A locking mechanism provided on a door of a vehicle and having an engaging member that engages with a fixing member provided on a vehicle body to maintain a locked state, wherein the engaging member is responsive to the electrical signal from the sensor. A locking mechanism for driving the
A vehicle door lock system. The vehicle door lock system according to claim 1, further comprising:
By transmitting the movement of the inside handle lever to the engaging member, a transmission mechanism that drives the engaging member in the disengagement direction according to the operation of the inside handle lever regardless of the presence or absence of the electrical signal. A vehicle door lock system comprising: The vehicle door lock system according to claim 1 or 2,
The vehicle door lock system according to claim 1, wherein the lock mechanism drives the engagement member in the disengagement direction according to the electric signal only when the gear state of the vehicle is parking.

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