JP6182768B2 - Vehicle door latch device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a door latch device disposed in a door of a vehicle, and more particularly to a vehicle door latch device that maintains a closed state even when a door outer panel is deformed due to a side collision or the like.

  Generally, a vehicle door latch device includes a base member fixed in the door and a meshing mechanism that meshes with a striker on the vehicle body side and can hold the door in a closed position. The base member is provided on an outer panel of the door. An outside lever that is coupled to an outside handle via an operating force transmission member such as a rod, and other various movable elements are installed.

  And since the connection part of the vehicle outer side edge part is connected with an outside handle via the operating force transmission member, the connection part protrudes rather than the base member toward the outer panel. Therefore, when the outer panel is deformed toward the vehicle interior due to a side collision or the like, the deformed outer panel comes into contact with the connecting portion, and a force in the rotational direction, that is, the release direction that opens the door acts on the outside lever. Then, there is a possibility that the meshing mechanism and the striker are disengaged from each other and the door opens unexpectedly.

  In addition, the vehicle door latch device described in Patent Document 1 includes a lift lever that can be rotated in the release direction so that the engagement between the engagement mechanism and the striker can be released, and when the outer panel is deformed due to a side collision or the like. The door is kept closed by preventing the lift lever from rotating in the release direction by, for example, inclining the lift lever in the direction of the rotation axis.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-55671

  However, the door latch device described in Patent Document 1 effectively rotates the lift lever in the release direction when a force in the rotation axis direction acts on the lift lever due to deformation of the outer panel toward the vehicle interior. However, when a force in the rotational direction is applied to the lift lever, the lift lever cannot be prevented from rotating.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle door latch device capable of maintaining a closed state of a door even when the door is deformed.

According to the present invention, the above problem is solved as follows.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a base member fixed in a door, a meshing mechanism installed on the base member and capable of holding the door in a closed position by meshing with a striker on a vehicle body side, and installed on the base member An outside lever that can be rotated in a release direction based on an opening operation of an outside handle disposed on the outer panel of the door, and a base member that is installed in the base member and based on rotation in the release direction of the outside lever. Locking means capable of changing to an unlocked state and a non-releasable locked state in which the meshing mechanism can be unlocked, and is always held in a standby position, and can be displaced inward from the standby position with deformation of the outer panel. a Do detecting means, said detecting means, by moving from the standby position to the vehicle direction, the child contact with said locking means By, wherein the changing the locking means from the unlocking state to the locked state

The second invention according to the first invention, the detection means may be moved from the standby position against the urging force of the spring to the vehicle direction.

  According to a third invention, in the first or second invention, the outside lever is connected to the outside handle via an operating force transmission member, and the vehicle outside first outside lever is rotated in the release direction. Is divided into a second outside lever on the vehicle inside that can be transmitted to the locking means, and the first outside lever is used as the detecting means.

  According to the present invention, when the outer panel of the door is deformed to the inside of the vehicle, the detecting means moves in the vehicle direction along with the deformation of the outer panel, and the lock means is moved to the locked state by the movement, thereby the door closed state is set. It becomes possible to maintain it reliably.

It is a front view of a door latch device to which the present invention is applied. Similarly, it is a rear view of a door latch device. FIG. 3 is a side view of the door latch device when in an unlocked state as viewed from the direction of arrow III in FIG. 1. It is a side view of a door latch device when it is also in a locked state. It is an expansion perspective view of the principal part. It is explanatory drawing of the principal part when it exists in a standby state. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 6. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the principal part when an outside handle is opened. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the principal part of the state which the outer panel of the door deform | transformed into the vehicle inner side. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 9.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the left side of FIG. 1 and the right side of FIG. 2 are referred to as “vehicle inside”, the right side of FIG. 1 and the left side of FIG. 2 are referred to as “vehicle outside”, and the front side of FIG. The rear side is referred to as “rear side”, and the rear side of the drawing in FIG. 1 and the front side of the drawing in FIG. 2 are referred to as “front side”.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a door latch device 1 according to the present invention is used by being attached to a side door (hereinafter abbreviated as a door) 2 that is supported on a side surface of a vehicle body so as to be opened and closed. The base member 3, the meshing mechanism 5 that can be held in the closed state by meshing with the striker 4 that is installed on the base member 3 and fixed to the vehicle body, and various movable elements that are installed on the base member 3 to be described later. With.

  The door 2 is formed of an outer panel 2a on the vehicle outer side and an inner panel 2b on the vehicle inner side. The outer panel 2a is provided with an outside handle 6 that is opened when the door 2 is opened from the outside of the vehicle, and the inner panel 2b is an unillustrated inside handle that is opened when the door 2 is opened from the inside of the vehicle. A lock knob (not shown) is provided that is operated when the door latch device 1 is switched between the locked state and the unlocked state from the inside of the vehicle.

  The base member 3 is fixed to the rear end surface of the inner panel 2b in the door 2 by a bolt (not shown), and a box-shaped synthetic resin body 31 having an open rear surface, and the body 31 is closed together with the body 31. Fixed to the body 31 so as to cover a metal cover plate 32 fixed to the inner panel 2b, a metal base plate 33 fixed to the front surface of the body 31, and various movable elements installed on the front surface side of the body 31. And a synthetic resin casing 34. Note that the base plate 33 and / or the casing 34 can be omitted as necessary, and are not necessarily required. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the configuration in which various movable elements are installed on the base plate 33 or the casing 34 will be described below. However, the shape of the body 31 or the cover plate 32 in the description is changed as appropriate, and the various movable elements are changed to the body. 31 or cover plate 32 may be installed. 2 omits a part of a later-described release lever 14, which is a movable element, a lock lever 16 and a casing 34, for convenience of explanation, and FIGS. 3 and 4 show the casing 34 by a two-dot chain line. Yes.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the meshing mechanism 5 is pivotally supported by a latch shaft 7 between the body 31 and the cover plate 32 in the front-rear direction and can mesh with the striker 4 on the vehicle body side, the body 31 and the cover. A ratchet 10 is supported between the plates 32 by a ratchet shaft 9 in the front-rear direction and engages with the outer peripheral edge of the latch 8 to prevent the latch 8 from rotating. The latch 8 is urged clockwise in FIG. 1 by a spring (not shown), and the ratchet 10 is urged counterclockwise in FIG. 1 by a spring (not shown). .

  When the door 2 is closed, the striker 4 enters the left-right striker entry groove 32a provided in the cover plate 32 from the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. Thereby, the latch 8 is rotated from the open position (a position rotated approximately 90 degrees clockwise from the full latch position shown in FIG. 1) to the full latch position, and the ratchet 10 is engaged with the outer peripheral edge of the latch 8, The door 2 is held in a closed state by preventing the latch 8 from rotating in the open direction (clockwise in FIG. 1).

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the various movable elements include a first outside lever 12 on the vehicle outer side and a vehicle inner side supported by the support shaft 17 in the front-rear direction, that is, substantially parallel to the surface of the outer panel 2 a. The second outside lever 13, the release lever 14 coupled to the second outside lever 13, the open lever 15 that can rotate integrally with the ratchet 10, and the casing 34, and coupled to the inside handle. An inside lever (not shown) and a lock lever 16 connected to the lock knob are included.

  In the present embodiment, the release lever 14 and the lock lever 16 correspond to the locking means according to the present invention that can be changed between a locked state and an unlocked state. However, the present invention is not limited only to this embodiment, and for example, the linkage relationship and the arrangement relationship of the release lever 14 and the lock lever 16 can be changed as appropriate. In short, the locking means unlocks the door 2 to be opened by disabling the opening of the door 2 by enabling rotation of the first and second outside levers 12 and 13 in the release direction and disabling opening of the door 2. Any configuration may be used as long as the configuration can be changed to the locked state.

  The first outside lever 12 protrudes outward from the base member 3 and is connected to the outside handle 6 via an operating force transmission member 11 that faces the up and down direction, and a long side that faces the inside and outside of the vehicle. The base plate 33 has a hole 12b and a forcible lock portion 12c for forcibly moving the release lever 14 from the unlocked position to the locked position, and the support shaft 17 is inserted into the elongated hole 12b so as to be relatively movable. It is supported so as to be rotatable and movable in the vehicle interior direction. Further, the first outside lever 12 is normally held at the standby position shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 6 and 7 by the urging force of the spring 18, and the opening operation of the outside handle 6 is performed via the operating force transmission member 11. When it is input to the vehicle outer side connection portion 12a, it rotates a predetermined angle in the release direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 6) from the standby position against the urging force of the spring 18 as shown in FIG. When the outer panel 2a is deformed to the vehicle inner side due to a collision or the like and contacts the vehicle outer connecting portion 12a, the immersion position is displaced from the standby position toward the vehicle interior as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 against the urging force of the spring 18. Move to.

  In the present embodiment, the first outside lever 12 corresponds to detection means that can be displaced from the standby position toward the in-vehicle direction with the deformation of the outer panel 2a according to the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment alone, and the detection means may be replaced with the first outside lever 12 as another element. In this case, the first and second outside levers 12 and 13 are integrated, and the detection means is added as another element.

  The second outside lever 13 is rotatably supported on the base plate 33 by the support shaft 17, and a vehicle inner side connection portion 13 a connected to the lower portion of the release lever 14 is provided at the vehicle inner side end portion, and the first portion is provided at the lower portion. A bent portion 13b that can be brought into contact with the outside lever 12 from the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 2 is provided.

  The spring 18 is wound around the support shaft 17, and the latching piece 33 a provided on the base plate 33 with one end applied with an elastic force and the latching piece 12 d formed on the first outside lever 12 from the inside of the vehicle. 2, the other end is hooked on the bent portion 13b of the second outside lever 13 from the clockwise side in FIG. A biasing force in the direction is applied, and a biasing force in the vehicle outward direction is applied to the first outside lever 12. Note that the first and second outside levers 12 and 13 are prevented from rotating clockwise from the standby position shown in FIG. 2 by a stopper (not shown) provided on the base plate 33 or the casing 34.

  The operating force transmission member 11 is formed of a metal rod, the upper end portion is connected to the outside handle 6, and the lower end portion bent in a crank shape is engaged with the vehicle outer side connection portion 12a from above. Then, it moves downward based on the opening operation of the outside handle 6, and the movement is transmitted to the vehicle outer side connection portion 12 a of the first outside lever 12 as the opening operation of the outside handle 6. Thus, the first outside lever 12 rotates in the release direction from the standby position against the urging force of the spring 18, and the rotation is transmitted to the second outside lever 13 through the bent portion 13b. The second outside lever 13 rotates in the release direction together with the first outside lever 12.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lock lever 16 is pivotally supported on the casing 34 by a support shaft 19 facing in and out of the vehicle, and is connected to the lock knob via an operation force transmission member such as a Bowden cable. Based on the operation, it is possible to move to the unlock position shown in FIG. 3 and the lock position shown in FIG. 4 rotated clockwise by a predetermined angle from the unlock position. The lock lever 16 is elastically held at the unlock position and the lock position by a biasing force of a spring (not shown).

  The release lever 14 is connected to the second outside lever 13 so as to be swingable in the front-rear direction by inserting the vehicle inner side connection portion 13a of the second outside lever 13 into the connection hole 14a provided in the lower portion. The protrusion 16a provided on the side surface of the lock lever 16 is engaged with the long slot 14b provided on the side surface so as to be relatively slidable in the vertical direction, so that the lock lever 16 is moved to the unlock position and the lock position. In conjunction with this, it is possible to move to the lock position shown in FIG. 4 rotated clockwise by a predetermined angle from the unlock position using the unlock position shown in FIG. Further, a forcibly locked portion 14d that can contact the forcible locking portion 12c when the first outside lever 12 moves to the immersive position is formed at a position above the connecting hole 14a of the release lever 14.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the release lever 14 and the lock lever 16 are in the unlocked state, the rotation of the second outside lever 13 from the standby position to the release direction is transmitted to the release lever 14. The release lever 14 moves upward from the standby position, and the release portion 14c provided on the release lever 14 abuts on the released portion 15a provided on the rotating portion of the open lever 15 by the movement, so that the open lever 14 15 is rotated in the counterclockwise release direction from the position shown in FIG. 2, and the ratchet 10 is rotated in the release direction away from the latch 8 to allow the door 2 to be opened. As shown in FIG. 4, when the release lever 14 and the lock lever 16 are in the locked state, the rotation of the second outside lever 13 from the standby position to the release direction is transmitted to the release lever 14, Even if the release lever 14 moves obliquely upward from the standby position, the release portion 14 c of the release lever 14 does not contact the released portion 15 a of the open lever 15. Therefore, the engagement relationship between the ratchet 10 and the latch 8 is maintained, and the door 2 cannot be opened.

Next, based on FIGS. 6-10, the effect | action of the door latch apparatus 1 which concerns on this embodiment, especially the motion of various movable elements are demonstrated.
6 and 7 show a standby state in which the door 2 is closed and the first and second outside levers 12 and 13 are held at the standby position by the biasing force of the spring 18. In this standby state, the forced lock portion 12c of the first outside lever 12 is on the side of the release lever 14 and is in a position that does not interfere with the forced lock portion 14d of the release lever 14.

  When the outside handle 6 is opened and the operating force transmission member 11 moves downward in the standby state and unlocked state, the first and second outside levers 12 and 13 resist the urging force of the spring 18. Thus, the rotation is rotated by a predetermined angle about the support shaft 17 in the release direction, and the rotation is transmitted to the release lever 14 by rotating to the position shown in FIG. When the release lever 14 moves upward (release direction), the release portion 14c comes into contact with the released portion 15a of the open lever 15 from below, and the open lever 15 rotates in the release direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 2). Let As a result, the ratchet 10 rotates integrally with the open lever 15, disengages from the latch 8, and allows the latch 8 to rotate in the opening direction, thereby allowing the door 2 to open.

  In the standby state and the unlocked state, the outer panel 2a of the door 2 is deformed to the vehicle inner side due to a side collision or the like, and the deformed outer panel 2a is connected to the outer side connection of the first outside lever 12 as shown in FIGS. When a force that pushes the first outside lever 12 in the in-vehicle direction acts on the portion 12a, the first outside lever 12 moves from the standby position toward the in-vehicle direction against the urging force of the spring 18. The forced lock portion 12c comes into contact with the forced lock portion 14d. Accordingly, the release lever 14 in the unlock position is forcibly moved to the lock position while the forced lock portion 12c moves in the in-vehicle direction. In conjunction with the movement of the release lever 14 to the lock position, the lock lever 16 also moves to the lock position. That is, when the outer panel 2a is deformed to the inside of the vehicle due to a side collision or the like and the outer panel 2a comes into contact with the first outside lever 12, the lock means (release lever 14 and lock lever 16) are locked from the unlocked state to the locked state. To change.

  Even if the outer panel 2a is further deformed and a force for displacing the operating force transmission member 11 or a force for rotating the first outside lever 12 in the release direction is applied, the release lever 14 Is displaced to the locked position, the open lever 15 cannot be rotated in the release direction. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the door 2 from opening unexpectedly.

While the present invention has been described above with reference to the above embodiment, the following modifications and changes can be made to the present embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
(A) As described above, when the first outside lever 12 and the second outside lever 13 are integrally formed as an outside lever, when the outer panel 2a is deformed toward the vehicle interior, a standby position is associated with the deformation. A dedicated detection means that can move from the car to the inside of the car is provided separately. And the forced lock part 12c which forcibly moves the release lever 14 to a lock position is provided in a detection means. In this case, the present invention can be achieved by using the outside lever 12 as it is and adding a detection means.
(B) The forced lock portion 12c can be brought into contact with the lock lever 16, and the lock lever 16 and the release lever 14 are moved to the lock position by the contact.
(C) The door is a sliding door or a back door of the vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Door latch apparatus 2 Door 2a Outer panel 2b Inner panel 3 Base member 4 Striker 5 Engagement mechanism 6 Outside handle 7 Latch shaft 8 Latch 9 Ratchet shaft 10 Ratchet 11 Operation force transmission member 12 1st outside lever (detection means)
12a Car outside connection part 12b Long hole 12c Forced lock part 12d Latch piece 13 2nd outside lever 13a Car inside connection part 13b Bending part 14 Release lever (locking means)
14a Connecting hole 14b Long groove 14c Release part 14d Forced lock part 15 Open lever 15a Release part 16 Lock lever (locking means) 16a Projection part 17 Support shaft 18 Spring 19 Support shaft 31 Body 31
32 cover plate 32a striker entry groove 33 base plate 33a latching piece 34 casing

Claims (3)

A base member fixed in the door;
A meshing mechanism installed on the base member and capable of holding the door in a closed position by meshing with a striker on the vehicle body side;
An outside lever installed on the base member and rotatable in a release direction based on an opening operation of an outside handle disposed on the outer panel of the door;
Lock means installed on the base member and changeable to an unlocked state and a non-releasable locked state capable of releasing the meshing of the meshing mechanism based on rotation of the outside lever in a release direction;
Detection means that is normally held at a standby position and is capable of being displaced from the standby position toward the interior of the vehicle with deformation of the outer panel;
The detection means moves from the standby position toward the inside of the vehicle to contact the lock means, thereby changing the lock means from the unlocked state to the locked state. 2. The vehicle door latch device according to claim 1, wherein the detecting means moves in the in- vehicle direction from the standby position against a biasing force of a spring. A first outside lever on the outside of the vehicle connected to the outside handle via an operating force transmission member, and a second on the inside of the vehicle that can transmit the rotation in the release direction to the locking means. Divided into outside levers,
The vehicle door latch device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first outside lever is the detection means.

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