JP2896236B2 - Vehicle door locking device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a locking device for a vehicle door, and more particularly to an improvement in an operating force transmission system for an inner handle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a door of a vehicle is provided with a lock mechanism for locking the door to a vehicle body or maintaining this locked state. Further, for example, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 61-41557, the inner panel of the door includes:
An inner handle connected to the lock mechanism via an inner handle rod so that the door lock state by the lock mechanism can be released, a door lock holding (hereinafter referred to as lock), and a release of the lock state (hereinafter, lock state) And a lock knob connected to a lock mechanism via a lock knob rod so as to enable unlocking. And
In the door locked state, when the inner handle is operated when the lock knob is in the unlocked state, the inner handle rod is pulled by the operation, the lock mechanism is operated, the locked state is released, and the door can be opened, On the other hand, when the lock knob is in the locked state, the lock mechanism does not operate even if the inner handle rod is pulled by operating the inner handle.

[0003]

As one example of a conventional door, a side collision load acts on the inner handle rod during a side collision of a vehicle, thereby hindering a predetermined operation of a lock mechanism. In some cases, a reinforcing member having high rigidity is disposed along the inner handle rod so as to eliminate the problem. In addition, at the time of a frontal collision or a rearward collision of the vehicle, the length of the door in the front-rear direction is reduced due to the collision load, and the distance between the lock mechanism and the inner handle may be reduced accordingly,
As a result, the predetermined operation of the lock mechanism may be hindered. For this reason, a configuration has been considered in which a reinforcing member is disposed at an appropriate position inside the door or the rigidity of the entire door is improved.

[0004] However, these configurations are not preferable because they require a large operating force when opening and closing the door to increase the weight of the door, and require high support rigidity at the door hinge. Was.

The present invention has been made in view of the above point, and has as its object to provide a structure which does not obstruct the predetermined operation of the door lock mechanism in the event of a vehicle collision, by eliminating the need for the reinforcing member and the like. It is assumed that.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the connection between the inner handle and the inner handle rod is cut off when the door is locked. Specifically, the vehicle door is locked in a closed state, or a lock mechanism that holds the locked state, and can be connected to the lock mechanism via a connecting member, and the door is locked by the lock mechanism. A lock device including an inner handle for releasing a state and a lock knob for enabling engagement / disengagement of a door by a lock mechanism is disposed between the connecting member and the inner handle, and one end of the inner handle rod is provided. The other end is provided with an engagement member having an engagement portion which is capable of engaging with and disengaging from the inner handle at the other end. The engagement member is connected to the inner handle and the connecting member by engagement of the engagement portion with the inner handle in the holding release state of the lock knob. The connection between the inner handle and the connecting member is cut off by detaching the joint from the inner handle.

[0007]

According to the operation of the present invention having the above structure, when a side impact load is applied to the vehicle in the locked and held state of the lock knob, the load may deform the connecting member. Can move away from the inner handle and break the connection between the inner handle and the connecting member, so that it can follow the movement due to the deformation of the connecting member, and absorb the movement amount of the connecting member by the displacement caused by the following. Therefore, no operating force is applied to the lock mechanism due to the side collision load. Therefore, the locked state of the door is not released by the load. Further, at the time of a frontal collision and a rearward collision of the vehicle, the distance between the inner handle and the lock mechanism becomes shorter because the collision load reduces the longitudinal dimension of the door. It moves following the movement of the member, and the inner handle does not move. Therefore, the door opening operation can be performed by setting the lock knob to the holding release state from this state and connecting the inner handle and the connecting member.

[0008]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a vehicle door lock device 1 according to this embodiment includes an inner handle 3 and a lock knob 4 provided on a door inner panel 2 (FIG. 3). It is connected to a lock mechanism 7 via a handle rod 5 and a lock knob rod 6, respectively.

An opening is provided at an appropriate position of the door inner panel 2, and the opening is provided in the inner handle accommodating portion 8.
a and a handle case in which the lock knob receiving portion 8b is formed.
Thing 8 is attached.

A base end 3a of the inner handle 3 is supported by the inner handle accommodating portion 8a by a support shaft 9 extending vertically in the handle casing 8.
The inner handle 3 is rotatable in a horizontal plane about the support shaft 9. This inner handle 3
The rotation to the outside in the vehicle width direction is performed by the inner handle housing 8a.
Is regulated by the vertical wall 8c, and can swing freely in a predetermined swing area toward the vehicle interior. A torsion spring (not shown) is provided between the inner handle 3 and the handle casing 8, and when the inner handle 3 is not operated, the inner handle 3 is moved from the inner handle accommodating portion 8a to the vehicle interior side. It is held in a state where it does not protrude (the state shown in FIG. 3). The base end 3a of the inner handle 3 extends upwardly in a cylindrical shape with a small dimension, and a V-shaped engaging groove 3b extending radially is formed on the entire upper surface thereof.

The inner handle 3 can be connected to a lock mechanism 7 via a rod lever 10 and an inner handle rod 5, as shown in FIG.
The rod lever 10 is rotatable in a horizontal plane because one end of the rod lever 10 is supported by the support shaft 9. That is, the rod lever 10 can rotate from the normal state position shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 to both left and right in a large angle range. Then, the base end 3a of the inner handle 3 in the rod lever 10
A V-shaped engagement groove 10a (an engagement portion in the present invention) which extends in a radial direction and which can be engaged with the engagement groove 3b of the inner handle 3 is provided on the entire lower surface of the one end located on the upper side. ing. The rod lever 10 is connected to the support shaft 9.
The engaging grooves 3b and 10a are engaged with each other at a lower end position thereof, and are disengaged at an upper end position. Further, a coil spring 11 is wound around the support shaft 9 between the base end portion 3a of the inner handle 3 and the rod lever 10 to urge the rod lever 10 upward with a small urging force. I have.

The other end of the rod lever 10 is rotatably connected to the inner handle rod 5.
The inner handle rod 5 extends rearward of the door from the connection position with the rod lever 10 toward the lock mechanism 7, and the rear end thereof is connected to a latch (not shown) in the lock mechanism 7, and the door is unlocked. By pulling the inner handle 3, the inner handle rod 5 is pulled forward to release the locked state of the door.

The lock knob 4 is disposed in the lock knob housing 8b of the handle case 8, one end of which is formed in the operating portion 4a facing the vehicle interior from the lock knob housing 8b, and the other end of which is the rod lever 10. Is supported by the support shaft 9 on the upper side, and is slidable vertically along the support shaft 9 in a predetermined area. The operating portion 4a is held at its upper end position and lower end position by setting the opening shape of the lock knob housing portion 8b. At the lower end position, the rod lever 10 is restricted to the lower end position to engage the engagement groove 10a with the engagement groove 3b of the inner handle 3. At the upper end position, the rod lever 10 slides upward. The rod lever 10 is allowed to move and the coil spring 1
By receiving the biasing force of 1, the upper end position is reached, and the engagement between the engagement grooves 10a and 3b is released. That is, when the lock knob 4 is at the upper end position, the connection between the inner handle 3 and the inner handle rod 5 is broken, and the lock mechanism 7 does not operate even if the inner handle 3 is pulled in this state. ing. One end of an L-shaped lock link 4b is pivotally supported on the back side of the operation portion 4a of the lock knob 4, and the lock knob 4 is connected to the lock knob rod 6 via the lock link 4b. Also, this lock link 4b
Is bent by handle case 8,
The lock knob rod 6 can be moved in the front-rear direction of the door (the left-right direction in FIG. 1) in accordance with the vertical movement of the lock knob 4. Therefore, when the lock knob rod 6 is pulled at the upper end position of the lock knob 4, the lock mechanism 7 is moved.
Are locked, and unlocked at the lower end position.

Next, the lock device 1 configured as described above.
The operation of will be described.

First, when the door is closed and unlocked, as shown in FIG. 4, the lock knob 4 is at the lower end position. In this state, the rod lever 10 is opposed to the urging force of the coil spring 11. By being disposed at the lower end position, the engagement groove 10 a of the rod lever 10 is engaged with the engagement groove 3 b of the inner handle 3. Therefore, in order to open the door, when the inner handle 3 is pulled toward the interior of the vehicle, the operating force is transmitted to the lock mechanism 7 via the rod lever 10 and the inner handle rod 5, and the latch and striker (not shown) Is released, and the door can be opened.

On the other hand, when the door is locked in the locked state, the lock knob 4 is pulled up to the upper end position as shown in FIG. As a result, the lock link 4b rotates, the lock knob rod 6 is pulled to the left in FIG. 5, the lock mechanism 7 is locked, and the rod lever 10 can be moved upward.
10 is at the upper end position by receiving the urging force of the coil spring 11. Thereby, the engagement groove 10 of the rod lever 10 is
a is detached from the engagement groove 3b of the inner handle 3. In such a state, even if the inner handle 3 is operated, the operation force is not transmitted to the inner handle rod 5, and the lock mechanism 7 does not operate.

One of the characteristic operations of this embodiment is a vehicle side collision in the door locked state.
When the vehicle collides sideways in the door locked state, the side collision load acts on the inner handle rod 5. As a result, the inner handle rod 5 bends in the shape of a square in the vehicle interior, and the length in the front-rear direction is shortened by the amount of the bend. However, as shown in FIG. 6 rotates clockwise in FIG. 6 around the support shaft 9 following the movement of the inner handle rod 5 to absorb the dimension shortened in the front-rear direction. by this,
No operating force is applied to the lock mechanism 7, and the locked state of the door is not released. Then, to open the door after such a side collision, like a normal opening operation,
Pull down the lock knob 4 to the lower end position, and
After the b and 10a are engaged, the occupant can escape by pulling the inner handle 3. As described above, according to the configuration of the present example, the locking state of the lock mechanism 7 is not released even if the side collision load acts on the inner handle rod 5 at the time of the side collision of the vehicle, and the side collision is prevented. Can be opened, and the predetermined operation of the lock mechanism 7 can always be obtained.

Another characteristic operation of the present embodiment is at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle. At the time of this front collision, as shown in FIG. 7, the distance between the inner handle 3 and the lock mechanism 7 also becomes short because the size of the door in the front-rear direction is shortened by the front collision load. At this time, the rod lever 10 is
Rotates counterclockwise at. When the door is opened from this state, the lock knob 4 is pulled down to the lower end position and the respective engagement grooves 3b and 10a are opened in the same manner as the normal opening operation.
Is engaged, the inner handle 3 is pulled. Thus, in the configuration of the present example, the predetermined operation of the lock mechanism 7 can be obtained even at the time of a vehicle front collision. Further, the same operation can be obtained at the time of a vehicle rear collision.

Next, a modified example of the present invention will be described.
The present example is employed in a U-shaped inner handle 3 as shown in FIG. 8, in which an engagement groove 3b is provided on the lower surface of the upper side of the inner handle 3, and the upper side of the inner handle 3 A rod lever 10 having an engagement groove 10a which is inserted into the support shaft 9 of the inner handle 3 and is engageable with the engagement groove 3b is disposed between the lower lever and the lower side. A lock knob 4 that can move up and down is disposed behind the inner handle 3. The lock knob 4 is connected to the rod lever 1.
0, the lock mechanism 7 is unlocked at the upper end position, and the respective engagement grooves 3b, 1
By engaging the inner handle 3a, the door is opened by the pull operation of the inner handle 3.
At the lower end position, the lock mechanism 7 is locked, and the engagement groove 10a of the rod lever 10 is disengaged from the engagement groove 3b of the inner handle 3 so that the operating force of the inner handle 3 is not transmitted to the lock mechanism 7. I have. Therefore, also in this modified example, at the time of collision of the vehicle in the locked state of the door, the lock mechanism 7 does not operate due to the collision load, and the predetermined operation of the lock mechanism 7 can always be obtained.

In this embodiment, the engagement grooves 3b and 10a extend radially between the inner handle 3 and the rod lever 10.
Although the connection is established by the engagement of each other, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be configured by a key-shaped groove.
Further, the connecting member is not limited to a rod member such as the inner handle rod 5.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the lock knob is engaged and held, the engagement member is detached from the inner handle and the connection between the inner handle and the connection member is cut off. In addition, it is possible to follow the movement due to the deformation of the connecting member, no operating force is applied to the lock mechanism due to the side impact load, and therefore, the locked state of the door is not released by the load, At the time of a vehicle side collision, a predetermined operation of the lock mechanism can be obtained. In addition, at the time of a front collision and a rear collision of the vehicle, the engagement member moves following the movement of the linking member, and the inner handle does not move. The door opening operation can be performed by connecting the connecting member to the connecting member, and the predetermined operation of the lock mechanism can be obtained even at the time of a front-rear collision of the vehicle. Therefore, the reliability of the door lock device can be ensured without providing a conventional reinforcing member or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lock device.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view around an inner handle.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the lock device.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an unlocked state of the lock device.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a locked state of the lock device.

FIG. 6 is a plan view for explaining an operation at the time of a vehicle side collision.

FIG. 7 is a plan view for explaining an operation at the time of a vehicle front collision.

FIG. 8 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 in a modified example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 lock device 3 inner handle 4 lock knob 5 inner handle rod (linking member) 7 lock mechanism 10 rod lever (engagement member) 10a engagement groove (engagement portion)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A lock mechanism for locking a vehicle door in a closed state or holding the locked state, and a lock mechanism capable of being connected to the lock mechanism via a linking member, and locking the door by the lock mechanism. What is claimed is: 1. A lock device comprising: an inner handle for releasing a state; and a lock knob for enabling engagement / disengagement of a door by a lock mechanism, wherein the lock device is disposed between the connecting member and the inner handle, and one end of the inner handle is provided. An engagement member that is connected to the handle rod and has an engagement portion that can be engaged with and disengaged from the inner handle at the other end is provided,
The engagement member connects the inner handle and the connecting member by engagement of the engagement portion with the inner handle when the lock knob is not held, while the inner handle of the engagement portion is engaged with the engagement member in the engagement holding state. A lock device for a vehicle door characterized in that the inner handle and the connecting member are disconnected from each other by detachment from the vehicle.