JP6446704B2 - Vehicle door latch device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle door latch device that can avoid a panic condition.

  In the vehicle door latch device, when in the locked state, if the unlocking operation is performed almost simultaneously with the door opening operation or immediately after the opening operation, a state in which switching to the unlocked state cannot be performed, a so-called panic state can be avoided. As a thing, there exists a thing as described in patent document 1, for example.

  The vehicle door latch device described in Patent Document 1 includes a lock lever that can move between an unlock position and a lock position. The lock lever is pivotally supported coaxially with the main lever, By dividing the sub-lever into a relatively movable sub-lever, in the locked state, an unlocking operation is performed immediately after the door opening operation, and an open link (open member in Patent Document 1) connected to the sub-lever. When a panic occurs in which the open lever (similarly, lift lever) comes into contact with the inoperable direction, the main lever can be moved to the unlocked position against the biasing force of the spring acting between the main lever and sub lever. In addition, once the door opening operation is interrupted, the sub-lever and the open link are attached with a spring. It is to be moved to the unlocked position by the force.

Japanese Patent No. 4196617

  However, in the vehicle door latch device described in Patent Document 1, in addition to the structure in which the lock lever is divided into two parts, the main lever and the sub lever, a structure is provided in which a spring for applying a biasing force is applied between the two divided levers. Therefore, there is a problem that the number of parts is large and the production cost is increased.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle door latch device that can avoid a panic state with a simple configuration.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is based on an open lever that can be rotated in a release direction capable of releasing meshing of a meshing mechanism that can mesh with a striker, and an opening operation of an operation handle provided on a door. An operable outside lever, a lock lever that can be moved to an unlocked position and a locked position based on an operation of the locking / unlocking operation means, and an outer lever that is connected to the outside lever and that is associated with the operation of the outside lever. a movable by release operation to said open lever a can be rotated to the release direction unlocked position and non locking position, when the locking lever is moved to the locked position, the guide portion of the locking lever Moves to the locked position by contact, and the lock lever moves to the unlocked position Kiniwa, wherein a open link movable in the unlocked position by the biasing force of the biasing means without contact with the guide portion of the locking lever, the open link, a connecting portion between the outside lever A housing recess between the sliding portion capable of contacting the guide portion and capable of housing the biasing means; and a support shaft formed in the housing recess, the biasing means including the housing recess The coil portion is supported by the support shaft, one end is the outside lever, the other end is a spring that is hooked to the open link , and the open link is released from the lock position. In the state, when the lock lever moves in the unlocking direction, the open link is in a direction in which the open lever cannot be rotated with respect to the open lever. The contact is prevented from moving to the unlock position, and in this state, the lock lever can move to the unlock position against the biasing force of the spring, and the open link is released. By returning to the previous initial position, the spring is moved to the unlock position by the biasing force of the spring .

  According to the present invention, by providing a spring that hangs one end on the outside lever and the other end on the open link, and urges the open link in the unlocking direction, the panic state can be smoothly and reliably performed with a simple configuration. Can be avoided.

It is a front view of the door latch device for vehicles concerning the present invention. It is the perspective view similarly seen from diagonally back of the door latch apparatus. It is the side view similarly seen from the vehicle outer side of the door latch apparatus. It is the side view similarly seen from the vehicle inside of the door latch device. It is a disassembled perspective view of the principal part. It is a side view of the principal part when it exists in an unlocked state. It is a side view of the principal part when it exists in a locked state. It is a side view of the principal part in a release operation state. It is a side view of the principal part in an idling operation state. It is a side view of the principal part in the panic generation state.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(Basic structure of door latch device 1)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the door latch device 1 is mounted in a front door (hereinafter referred to as “door”) of a vehicle and is assembled to the meshing unit 2 for holding the door in a closed state. The operation unit 3 is provided.

  The meshing unit 2 includes, as main elements, a synthetic resin body 4 fixed to a rear end portion in a door by a plurality of bolts (not shown), and a metal that closes an opening facing the front side (rear side) of the body 4. A base plate (not shown) including a metal cover plate 5 and a metal back plate 6 fixed to the back surface (front surface) of the body 4 and a striker S accommodated in the base and fixed to the vehicle body can be engaged. And a latch mechanism (not shown) including a ratchet 8 engageable with the latch 7 and an open lever 9 for releasing the engagement relationship between the ratchet 8 and the latch 7.

  The latch 7 is pivotally supported between the body 4 and the cover plate 5 by a latch shaft 10 that faces in the front-rear direction, and a full latch engagement portion 71 and a half latch engagement portion 72 that can engage the ratchet 8 at the lower outer periphery. Is provided.

  In addition, the latch 7 is illustrated from an open position (a position rotated approximately 90 degrees counterclockwise from the position shown in FIG. 1) corresponding to the open state of the door not engaged with the striker S as the door is closed. All of the doors that are fully engaged with the striker S through the half-latch position corresponding to the half-door state of the door that is slightly engaged with the striker S are rotated clockwise against the biasing force of the spring. It rotates to the full latch position (position shown in FIG. 1) corresponding to the closed state, and rotates in the opposite direction as the door is opened.

  The ratchet 8 is located below the latch 7 and is pivotally supported by a ratchet shaft 11 facing the front-rear direction between the body 4 and the cover plate 5 and is engaged by a spring 12 (clockwise in FIG. The full latch engaging portion 71 and the half latch engaging portion 72 in the direction of engagement), and the full latch engaging portion 71 of the latch 7 is engaged to hold the door in a fully closed state. The door is held in a half-door state by engaging with the latch engaging portion 72.

  The open lever 9 is pivotally supported on the back side facing the front of the body 4 so as to be coaxial with the ratchet 8 and so as to rotate integrally with the ratchet 8, and at the end extending toward the vehicle interior, A release unit 91 is provided.

Mainly, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the operation unit 3 includes a synthetic resin casing 15 fixed to the body 4, and an operation mechanism (no reference) accommodated in the casing 15. The operation mechanism includes, as main elements, a motor 16, a worm wheel 17 that can rotate forward and backward by the rotation of the motor 16, and a lock that can be moved to an unlock position that enables door opening and a lock position that disables the door. A lever 18, a knob lever 19 connected to a lock knob (not shown) that forms a manual locking / unlocking operation means provided on the inner side of the door, and an open link 20 that can move to the unlock position and the lock position together with the lock lever 18. An inside lever 21 connected to an inside handle for door opening operation (not shown) provided on the inside of the door, a key lever 22 connected to a key cylinder (not shown) provided on the outside of the door, and a door vehicle And an outside lever 23 connected to an outside handle for opening the door (not shown) provided outside. It is. The lock lever 18, the knob lever 19, and the open link 20 constitute a locking / unlocking mechanism according to the present embodiment.
2 to 4 omit a part of the casing 15 to clearly show the internal structure of the operation unit 3.

  The worm wheel 17 is pivotally supported on the casing 15 by a shaft 171 facing in the vehicle interior, and is neutral (position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) against the biasing force of the spring 24 based on the rotation of the motor 16. When the motor 16 stops rotating forward and backward, the position returned by the urging force of the spring 24 returns to the neutral position.

  The knob lever 19 is pivotally supported by the casing 15 by a shaft 191 facing the inside and outside of the casing 15, and clockwise from the unlock position and the unlock position shown in FIG. 4 based on the unlock operation and the lock operation of the lock knob. Rotate to the locked position rotated by a predetermined angle.

  The key lever 22 is pivotally supported by a shaft 221 facing in and out of the vehicle, and is rotated from the neutral position (position shown in FIG. 3) to the unlocking direction and the locking direction based on the operation of the key cylinder. Then, the lock lever 18 is rotated to the unlock position and the lock position.

The lock lever 18 is pivotally supported by a shaft 181 facing inward and outward in the casing 15, and has a tooth portion 183 that meshes with a tooth portion 172 provided on the worm wheel 17. The key lever is based on the operation of the key cylinder. The unlocking position (FIG. 3) enables the opening operation of the outside handle and the inside handle by the rotation of the knob 22, the rotation of the knob lever 19 based on the operation of the lock knob, and the rotation of the worm wheel 17 based on the rotation of the motor 16. 4 and 6) and the unlocked position is rotated clockwise by a predetermined angle in FIG. 6 and rotated to a locked position (position shown in FIG. 7) that invalidates the opening operation of the outside handle and the inside handle. The elastic member of the holding member 25 formed by a torsion spring supported by the casing 15 is movable. They are respectively elastically held in the unlocked position and the locked position by the force.
When the lock lever 18 is operated to the unlock position, the lock lever 18 stops at the unlock position by abutting a stopper (not shown) provided on the casing 15, and when the lock lever 18 is operated to the lock position, the casing 18 is stopped. By abutting against a stopper (not shown) provided at 15, it stops at the lock position.

  One end of the holding member 25 is hooked on the casing 15, and the other end of the mountain shape is elastically engaged with the lock lever 18, so that the lock lever 18 is set at a substantially intermediate point between the unlock position and the lock position. The urging direction acting on the switch is switched from the unlocking direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 6) to the locking direction (clockwise in FIG. 6) or the opposite direction.

  The open link 20 has a lower portion connected to a connecting portion 232 at the inner end of the outside lever 23 so as to be rotatable by a predetermined angle in the front-rear direction, and an upper portion connected to the lock lever 18 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. As a result, in conjunction with the operation of the lock lever 18, the unlock position (the position shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 6) around the connecting portion 232 of the outside lever 23 and a predetermined clockwise direction from the unlock position. It rotates to the lock position (position shown in FIG. 7) rotated by an angle. A release portion 201 that can come into contact with the released portion 91 of the open lever 9 from below when provided at the unlock position is provided at a substantially central portion in the vertical direction of the open link 20.

  The outside lever 23 is pivotally supported on the lower side of the body 4 by a shaft 231 in the front-rear direction, and rotates in the release direction against the biasing force of a spring (not shown) based on the opening operation of the outside handle. Then, the open link 20 is released upward by the rotation.

  The inside lever 21 is pivotally supported by a shaft 211 facing in and out of the vehicle, and is rotated clockwise in FIG. 4 about the shaft 211 based on the opening operation of the inside handle. 23 to the open link 20.

  When the door is fully closed and the locking / unlocking mechanism is unlocked as shown in FIG. 6, when the outside lever 23 is released based on the opening operation of the outside handle or the inside handle, FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the open link 20 is released upward from the unlocked position, which is the initial position, and the release part 201 abuts the released part 91 of the open lever 9 from below by the release action, and the open lever 9 is Turn in the release direction. As a result, the ratchet 8 is disengaged from the full latch engaging portion 71 of the latch 7 and the door can be opened.

  Further, when the door is in the fully closed state and the locking / unlocking mechanism is in the locked state as shown in FIG. 7, even if the open link 20 is released upward by the release operation of the outside lever 21, As shown in FIG. 9, the release portion 201 is swung relative to the released portion 91 of the open lever 9, and the open lever 9 cannot be rotated in the release direction, so the door cannot be opened.

(Characteristic structure)
Next, the characteristic part in this invention is demonstrated mainly based on FIGS.
The open link 20 can swing in the front-rear direction around the connecting portion 232 with respect to the outside lever 23 by inserting the connecting portion 232 of the outside lever 23 into the drum-like connecting hole 202 provided in the lower portion. The urging force is always applied to the direction toward the unlock position (hereinafter referred to as “unlock direction”) by the torsion spring 32 that constitutes the urging means supported by the lower portion of the open link 20 while being connected. .

  A sliding portion 203 that is slidable with respect to the guide portion 182 provided at the lower portion of the lock lever 18 and that can contact only the rotation of the lock lever 18 in the locking direction is provided above the open link 20. Is provided.

  The torsion spring 32 is housed in the housing recess 205 formed on the side surface of the open link 20, the coil portion 321 is supported by the support shaft 204 formed in the housing recess 205, and the arm portion 322 facing downward is out. The arm portion 323 that is hooked on the connecting portion 232 of the side lever 23 and that faces upward is hooked on the open link 20, so that the urging force in the unlocking direction about the connecting portion 232 is applied to the open link 20. Has been granted. The urging force of the torsion spring 32 is set to be smaller than the urging force of the holding member 25 that elastically holds the lock lever 18 in the locked position.

  When the open link 20 is rotated from the unlock position to the lock position of the lock lever 18, the guide portion 182 contacts the sliding portion 203 in the rotation direction, so that the open link 20 moves from the unlock position to the lock position. The rotation of the lock lever 18 from the lock position to the unlock position follows the rotation of the lock lever 18 by the urging force of the torsion spring 32 without contacting the lock lever 18. It rotates from the locked position to the unlocked position, and releases in the release direction (upward) based on the release action of the outside lever 23.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the lock lever 18 is held in the locked position, the urging force of the torsion spring 32 in the unlocking direction acts on the open link 20, but the torsion spring Since the urging force of 32 is smaller than the holding force that holds the lock lever 18 of the holding member 25 in the locked position, the lock lever 18 and the open link 20 are rotated to the unlocked position by the urging force of the torsion spring 32. Never do.

  When the door is in the fully closed state and the lock lever 18 and the open link 20 are in the unlocked position as shown in FIG. 6, the outside lever 23 based on the door opening operation of the outside handle or the inside handle is used. When the open link 20 is released upward from the unlocked position with the rotation, the release portion 201 of the open lever 20 contacts the released portion 91 of the open lever 9 from below as shown in FIG. As a result, the open lever 9 rotates in the release direction, disengages the ratchet 8 from the full latch engaging portion 71 of the latch 7 and enables the door to open.

  When the door is in the fully closed state and the lock lever 18 and the open link 20 are in the locked position as shown in FIG. 7, the outside lever 23 based on the outside handle or the door opening operation of the inside handle is used. 9, even if the open link 20 is released upward from the lock position, which is the initial position, the release portion 201 of the open link 20 is moved to the released portion 91 of the open lever 9 as shown in FIG. 9. Therefore, the open lever 9 cannot be rotated in the release direction and the door cannot be opened.

Next, the operation in the panic state will be described.
When the operation switch or the lock knob is unlocked in the idling state shown in FIG. 9, when the unlocking operation force is input to the lock lever 18 by the rotation of the worm wheel 17 by the power of the motor 16 or the unlocking operation of the lock knob. The open link 20 is rotated in the unlocking direction from the idling state, and a part of the open link 20 comes into contact with a part of the open lever 9 from the direction in which the open lever 9 cannot be rotated. A panic condition occurs in which movement in the unlocking direction is prevented.

  However, in this embodiment, the guide portion 182 of the lock lever 18 contacts the sliding portion 203 of the open link 20 only in one direction, that is, in the lock direction, thereby moving the open link 20 to the lock position. Since the urging force of the torsion spring 32 housed in the housing recess 205 of the open link 20 is applied in the unlocking direction to the open link 20 in a contact relationship, a part of the open link 20 is part of the open lever 9. The open lever 9 is brought into contact with a part of the open link 9 from a non-rotatable direction, and a panic state occurs in which the movement of the open link 20 in the unlocking direction is prevented. As shown in FIG. The lock lever 18 stops the open link 20 in the middle position even if the movement to the unlock position is blocked. While keeping can be rotated to the unlocked position against the urging force of the torsion spring 32.

  Then, the opening operation of the outside handle (or inside handle) is interrupted, the open link 20 moves downward, and a part of the open link 20 is disengaged from a part of the open lever 9 to the initial position before the release operation. By returning, as shown in FIG. 6, the open link 20 moves to the unlock position by the urging force of the torsion sprink 32.

  After switching to the unlocked state, the door can be opened again by opening the outside handle (or inside handle).

  As described above, when the lock lever 18 moves from the unlock position to the lock position, the guide portion 182 of the lock lever 18 abuts against the sliding portion 203 of the open link 20, thereby moving the open link 20 from the unlock position to the lock position. When the lock lever 18 moves from the lock position to the unlock position, the open link 20 is moved from the lock position by the urging force of the torsion spring 32 without the guide portion 182 coming into contact with the sliding portion 203. Since it is moved to the unlock position, the panic state can be surely eliminated by a simple configuration.

  In addition, since the torsion spring 32 is housed in the housing recess 205 of the open link 20, the torsion spring 32 contacts other elements other than the open link 20 and the outside lever 23 when the open link 20 is operating. This can be prevented, and the release operation of the open link 20 can be smoothed.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the following various modifications and changes can be made to the present embodiment without departing from the gist of the present invention.

(A) The biasing means is a spring other than the torsion spring 32.
(B) When the urging means is the torsion spring 32, the coil part 321 of the torsion spring 32 is supported by the connecting part 232 of the outside lever 23.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Door latch apparatus 2 Meshing unit 3 Operation unit 4 Body 5 Cover plate 6 Back plate 7 Latch (meshing mechanism) 8 Ratchet (meshing mechanism)
9 Open lever 10 Latch shaft 11 Ratchet shaft 12 Spring 15 Casing 16 Motor (locking / unlocking operation means)
17 Worm wheel 18 Lock lever (locking / unlocking mechanism)
19 Knob lever (locking / unlocking mechanism) 20 Open link (locking / unlocking mechanism)
21 Inside lever 22 Key lever 23 Outside lever 24 Spring 25 Holding member 32 Torsion spring (biasing means)
71 Full latch engaging portion 72 Half latch engaging portion 91 Released portion 171 Shaft 172 Tooth portion 181 Shaft 182 Guide portion 183 Tooth portion 191 Shaft 201 Release portion 202 Connecting hole 203 Sliding portion 204 Support shaft 205 Housing recess 211 Shaft 221 Shaft 232 Connecting part 321 Coil part 322, 323 Arm part

Claims (1)

An open lever that can be rotated in a release direction capable of releasing the meshing of the meshing mechanism that can mesh with the striker;
An outside lever operable based on an opening operation of an operation handle provided on the door;
A lock lever that can be moved to an unlock position and a lock position based on the operation of the locking and unlocking operation means;
It is connected to the outside lever, and can be moved to an unlock position and an impossible lock position where the open lever can be rotated in the release direction by a release operation accompanying the operation of the outside lever, When the lock lever moves to the lock position, it moves to the lock position by contacting the guide portion of the lock lever, and when the lock lever moves to the unlock position, it moves to the guide portion of the lock lever. An open link that can move to the unlocked position by the urging force of the urging means without abutting,
The open link is between a connecting portion with the outside lever and a sliding portion capable of coming into contact with the guide portion, and an accommodation recess capable of accommodating the biasing means, and a support formed in the accommodation recess. Has an axis,
The biasing means is a spring that is housed in the housing recess, the coil portion is supported by the support shaft, one end is hooked to the outside lever, and the other end is hooked to the open link,
When the open link is released from the locked position and the lock lever moves in the unlocking direction,
The open link is prevented from moving to the unlock position by abutting the open lever from the direction in which the open lever cannot rotate, and in this state, the lock lever is subjected to the biasing force of the spring. The vehicle door latch is capable of moving to the unlocked position against the unlocked position, and further moves to the unlocked position by the biasing force of the spring when the open link returns to the initial position before the release operation. apparatus.

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