JP7067704B2 - Door lock device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle door lock device.

A door lock device is provided on the door of the vehicle, and the latch of the door lock device engages and holds the striker on the vehicle body side to keep the door closed. Further, in the door lock device provided on the back door, the latch is pressed by the striker to rotate, the striker is temporarily engaged at the half latch position, and further rotated by the driving force of the motor to rotate the striker at the full latch position. There is a type that engages. Such a type is also called a closer type.

The back door has a mechanism that opens and closes based on the horizontal axis, and is heavy. Therefore, even if the back door is kept closed by the door lock device, there is a concern that rattling may occur due to vibration during traveling. Therefore, it has been proposed to prevent such rattling by applying various measures to the weather strip that maintains the airtightness of the back door (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-229841

By the way, the weather strip is a relatively long part, and it is costly to take measures to prevent rattling of the door with respect to the total length. Therefore, it is conceivable to take measures to prevent rattling of the door by using a door lock device instead of a weatherstrip. For example, by elastically urging the latch of the door lock device with a resin elastic body such as rubber, the rattling of the door can be prevented by pressing the engaged striker to one side. However, in order to prevent the back door having a large weight from rattling, a strong urging force is required to some extent, and therefore a moderately hard resin elastic body is applied. General resin elastic bodies tend to harden at low temperatures.

On the other hand, a closer type door lock device may be applied to the back door, and the latch is driven by a motor from the half latch position to the full latch position. In order to rotate the latch against the above, a large driving force is required for the motor, and it is necessary to increase the size of the motor, resulting in high cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a door lock device capable of preventing rattling of a door at low cost.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the door lock device according to the present invention is pressed and rotated by the striker entering from the striker groove, and the striker is temporarily engaged at the half-latch position. Further, the latch that engages the striker at the full latch position by being rotated by the driving force of the motor and a part of the latch when the latch rotates from the half latch position and reaches or before reaching the full latch position. It is characterized by comprising a metal elastic body that elastically deforms and urges the latch toward the side opposite to the direction of rotation.

The metal elastic body is a torsion spring, and the latch may be urged by engaging one locking end with the locking portion and the other passive end contacting a part of the latch.

The latch and the passive end may be displaced while sliding after being in contact with each other.

A bent portion may be formed between the coil portion of the torsion spring and the passive end.

It has a stopper that holds the metal elastic body in an elastically deformed state before it comes into contact with the latch, and the metal elastic body may be further elastically deformed by pressing the latch.

The latch can rotate to a region of overstroke beyond the full latch position, and the elastic force received by the latch may gradually increase in the region of the overstroke as the latch rotates. ..

A cushioning material may be provided on at least one of the contact surfaces of the latch and the metal elastic body.

The door lock device may be provided on the back door of a vehicle that opens and closes with respect to a horizontal axis.

In the door lock device according to the present invention, a metal elastic body that abuts on a part of the latch and urges the latch in the direction opposite to the rotation direction when the latch rotates from the half latch position to reach the full latch position or before reaching the full latch position. Equipped with it, it does not harden even at low temperatures, the load on the motor that rotates the latch is suppressed, there is no need to increase the output and size of the motor, and it is possible to prevent rattling of the door at low cost. can.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the door lock device according to the embodiment as viewed diagonally from the front. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the door lock device according to the embodiment as viewed diagonally from the rear. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the door lock device according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the inside of the motor unit as viewed diagonally from the front. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the inside of the motor unit as viewed diagonally from the rear. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the lever assembly. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the inside of the latch unit. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the upper case of the latch unit as viewed from the inside. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the inside of the latch unit, the lever assembly, and the open lever. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the latch unit when the latch pin comes into contact with the passive end of the torsion spring at the position immediately before the latch reaches the full latch position. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the latch unit when the latch is in the full latch position. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the latch unit when the latch is in the overstroke position. FIG. 13 is a graph showing the relationship between the latch stroke position and the five means for applying a repulsive force to the latch at room temperature. FIG. 14 is a graph showing the effect of temperature change on the repulsive force for the two means of applying the repulsive force to the latch. 15A and 15B are views for explaining the operation of the striker, latch, ratchet and torsion spring, FIG. 15A is an explanatory view before the full latch, FIG. 15B is an explanatory view of the full latch position, and FIG. 15C is an over. It is explanatory drawing of a stroke position. FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a latch pin and a torsion spring provided with a cushioning material. FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional side view of the rear part of the vehicle provided with the door lock device.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the door lock device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the door lock device 10 according to the embodiment as viewed diagonally from the front. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the door lock device 10 according to the embodiment as viewed diagonally from the rear. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the door lock device 10 according to the embodiment. The door lock device 10 is fixed to the back door of the vehicle, for example, by a bolt B0 via a bush b, and locks the back door by holding the striker S provided on the vehicle body side. In the following description, in FIGS. 1 to 3, the front side is the front side and the back side is the back side.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the door lock device 10 includes a motor unit 12, a latch unit 14, a first metal bracket 16, and a second metal bracket 18. In the door lock device 10, the first metal bracket 16 is a base member having an appropriate strength, and the motor unit 12 and the latch unit 14 are attached to the first metal bracket 16. The motor unit 12 and the latch unit 14 do not necessarily have to be independent units. The door lock device 10 further has a lever assembly 20 and an open lever 22 between the first metal bracket 16 and the second metal bracket 18.

First, the motor unit 12 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the motor unit 12 has a housing formed by a front front housing 24 and a back housing 26, and has a waterproof and dustproof function for each internal component.

The back housing 26 is provided with five engaging claws 26a laterally and downwardly, and the front housing 24 is provided with five corresponding engaging protrusions 24a. The back housing 26 is fixed to the front housing 24 by engaging each engaging claw 26a with the engaging protrusion 24a in a snap-fit manner. As described above, the pair of the engaging protrusion 24a and the engaging claw 26a forms the housing mutual fixing portion. The front housing 24 and the back housing 26 are further fastened by six bolts B3 (see FIG. 2). The front housing 24 and the back housing 26 are made of resin and are lightweight.

The motor unit 12 has a coupler 28 on the side, and a harness connector 30 is connected to the coupler 28. The harness connector 30 is connected to a control unit (not shown). The motor unit 12 has an output shaft 32 that protrudes forward slightly below the center of the front housing 24 on the front side. The motor unit 12 rotates the output shaft 32 forward and reverse under the action of the control unit. The output shaft 32 rotates the lever assembly 20 (see FIG. 6), which will be described later, in the forward and reverse directions. The motor unit 12 is fixed to the first metal bracket 16 by screwing four bolts B1 protruding from the front housing 24 to the front side into the four screw holes 16b of the first metal bracket 16, respectively. The lower two of these four bolts B1 pass through the hole 18a of the second metal bracket 18 and fasten the second metal bracket 18 together. That is, the second metal bracket 18 is sandwiched and fixed between the front housing 24 and the first metal bracket 16.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the inside of the motor unit 12 as viewed diagonally from the front. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the inside of the motor unit 12 as viewed diagonally from the rear. The front housing 24 is omitted in FIG. 4 and the back housing 26 is omitted in FIG. 5 so that the inside of the motor unit 12 can be visually recognized. FIG. 5 also shows the latch unit 14.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the motor unit 12 includes an output shaft 32, a motor 34, a screw 34a provided on the rotating shaft of the motor 34, a relay gear 36, a sector gear 38, and a coupler 28. It has a plate assembly 40 to which the coupler 28 is fixed.

The motor 34 is arranged so that the rotation axis is oriented sideways at the uppermost position. The pair of terminals 34b of the motor 34 are connected to the coupler 28 by a motor lead wire 41, the applied polarity is reversed under the action of the control unit, and the rotation shaft is rotated forward and backward.

The relay gear 36 is provided below the rotation shaft of the motor 34, and has a large-diameter tooth 36a having a large number of teeth and a small-diameter tooth 36b having a small number of teeth. The large diameter tooth 36a simplifies the illustration. The central axis of the relay gear 36 is pivotally supported by the front housing 24 and the back housing 26. Since the large diameter tooth 36a meshes with the screw 34a, the relay gear 36 is decelerated and driven under the rotational action of the screw 34a.

The sector gear 38 is provided diagonally below the relay gear 36, has outer peripheral teeth 38a, and its rotation center is provided so as to be non-rotatable relative to the output shaft 32 by spline teeth 32b (see FIG. 5). There is. The outer peripheral teeth 38a simplify the illustration. The output shaft 32 is pivotally supported by a reinforcing shaft support hole 26b (see FIG. 2) of the back housing 26 and a reinforcing shaft support hole 24d (see FIG. 3) of the front housing 24. The output shaft 32 is further pivotally supported by the first metal bracket 16 and the second metal bracket 18, and is stable.

The outer peripheral teeth 38a of the sector gear 38 mesh with the small diameter teeth 36b of the relay gear 36, and the sector gear 38 and the output shaft 32 are decelerated and driven under the rotational action of the relay gear 36. The relay gear 36 and the sector gear 38 are relatively large parts in the motor unit 12, but they are each made of resin and are lightweight. However, the relay gear 36 and the sector gear 38 may be partially made of metal. The weight of the relay gear 36 can be reduced if at least the large-diameter teeth 36a and the disk 36c supporting the large-diameter teeth 36a are made of resin. The weight of the sector gear 38 can be reduced if at least the outer peripheral teeth 38a and the fan plate 38b supporting the outer peripheral teeth 38a are made of resin. In the door lock device 10, the relay gear 36 and the sector gear 38 that decelerate the rotation of the screw 34a of the first stage gear and transmit the rotation to the output shaft 32 are two-stage reduction gears. If at least one of these reduction gears is made of resin, the weight can be reduced.

The coupler 28 is a receptacle type, and a plurality of male pins 28b are provided inside the coupler wall 28a. The coupler wall 28a is rectangular when viewed from the fitting direction. The opening 28c of the coupler wall 28a points diagonally downward. A rubber protrusion 28d is fixed (for example, adhered) to the front surface of the coupler wall 28a.

A part of the front housing 24 forms a cover that surrounds the upper and lower surfaces and the front surface of the coupler 28. A pedestal with holes 24c is formed at both left and right ends in the lower part of the front housing 24. A part of the back housing 26 forms a cover 26d that surrounds the back surface of the coupler wall 28a. The cover 24b and the cover 26d form a coupler cover 39 (see FIG. 1) that covers all four sides of the coupler 28. Since the coupler cover 39 is formed as a part of the front housing 24 and the back housing 26 in this way, no special component for covering the coupler 28 is required.

A low peripheral wall 26c is provided on the entire circumference of the back housing 26, and the peripheral wall 26c covers the entire circumference of the front housing 24. The coupler 28 is part of the plate assembly 40.

The plate assembly 40 includes a plate 44 as a base member, a coupler 28, two limit switches 46a and 46b, five pins 48, and a plurality of terminals 50. The limit switches 46a and 46b are operated by two large and small cams of the cam body 42 according to the rotation angles of the sector gear 38 and the output shaft 32.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the lever assembly 20. The lever assembly 20 has an emergency lever 52, an output lever 54, and a bolt B2 connecting them. The emergency lever 52 is provided on the front side of the output lever 54. The emergency lever 52 and the output lever 54 are arranged with almost no gap.

The emergency lever 52 has a spline 52a, an arm 52b extending upward, and a small lever 52c below. A hole through which the bolt B2 is inserted is provided in the vicinity of the tip of the arm 52b. The emergency lever 52 is non-rotatably connected to the output shaft 32 by engaging the spline 52a with the spline teeth 32a (see FIG. 4) near the tip of the output shaft 32.

The output lever 54 has a hole 54a coaxial with the spline 52a, an arm 54b extending upward, a lever 54c below, and a small protrusion 54d protruding from the top of the arm 54b. A screw hole into which the bolt B2 is screwed is provided in the upper portion of the arm 54b. The lever 54c is an operating portion for the latch unit 14, and includes a tip acting portion 54e bent by 90 ° on the front side.

The bolt B2 that has passed through the hole of the arm 52b is screwed into the screw hole of the arm 54b to fasten the emergency lever 52 and the output lever 54. The hole 54a has a slightly larger diameter than the fitted output shaft 32. Therefore, the output lever 54 does not receive the driving force directly from the output shaft 32, but is non-rotatably connected via the emergency lever 52 and the bolt B2. As a result, when the motor 34 does not move for some reason (for example, power loss), the output lever 54 can be manually moved as an emergency operation by removing the bolt B2. The output lever 54 can be swung by manually moving the small protrusion 54d at the upper end. As shown in FIG. 1, the small protrusion 54d is exposed and is in a position where it can be easily operated from the front.

Returning to FIG. 3, the open lever 22 includes an upper support shaft 22a, a main lever 22b protruding downward, a small lever 22c protruding diagonally downward, and a torsion spring 22d provided around the support shaft 22a. Have. The torsion spring 22d elastically biases the entire open lever 22 in the counterclockwise direction. The main lever 22b is an operation portion for the latch unit 14, and includes a tip action portion 22e bent by 90 ° on the front side. The tip of the support shaft 22a is fitted into the hole 16a of the first metal bracket 16, and the tip portion is further processed so as to expand in a flange shape to perform a retaining process, and the entire open lever 22 is pivotally supported.

Next, the latch unit 14 will be described. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the inside of the latch unit 14. The latch unit 14 is based on the third metal bracket 56 and covers the upper portion thereof with the upper case 58 (see FIG. 1), but in FIG. 7, the upper case 58 is omitted so that the inside can be visually recognized.

As shown in FIG. 7, the third metal bracket 56 has a shallow box shape and has a striker groove 56a opened forward and a pedestal 56b with holes protruding to the left and right. The pedestal 56b with holes is fastened together with the first metal bracket 16 to the vehicle by bolts B0 (see FIG. 3). The striker groove 56a is a groove into which the striker S (see FIG. 1) enters.

Inside the third metal bracket 56, a latch 60, a ratchet 62, and two limit switches 64a and 64b are provided. The third metal bracket 56 is made of metal, and the ratchet 62 and the latch 60 can be stably pivotally supported, and the back door is fastened together with the perforated pedestal 56b to reduce the number and space of fastening points. It can be reduced and is rational.

The latch 60 is pivotally supported by the latch shaft 66, and is elastically urged in the counterclockwise direction by a torsion spring 68 provided around the latch shaft 66. The latch 60 has a holding notch 60a for holding the striker S, a full latch engaging recess 60b, a half latch engaging recess 60c, a cam 60e, and a latch pin 60d. The full latch engaging recess 60b is provided near the opening of the holding notch 60a. The half-latch engaging recess 60c is formed at a position slightly clockwise with respect to the full-latch engaging recess 60b. The cam 60e is formed at a position further clockwise than the half latch engaging recess 60c. The latch pin 60d has a cylindrical shape and is erected upward at the base of the cam 60e. The latch pin 60d is made of metal, for example. The latch pin 60d is fixed to the latch 60 and can be regarded as a part of the latch 60.

The ratchet 62 is pivotally supported by the ratchet shaft 70, and is elastically urged clockwise by a torsion spring 72 provided around the ratchet shaft 70. The ratchet 62 has an engaging claw 62a located behind the striker groove 56a and a ratchet pin 62b provided between the ratchet shaft 70 and the engaging claw 62a and erected upward.

The limit switches 64a and 64b are provided side by side in the rearmost region inside the third metal bracket 56. The limit switch 64a is operated by the cam 60e when the latch 60 is in the half latch position. The limit switch 64b is operated by the cam 60e when the latch 60 reaches the full latch position (position shown in FIGS. 7 and 11). The limit switches 64a and 64b are connected to the terminal 50 (see FIG. 4) by a harness 74 (see FIG. 2). The limit switches 64a and 64b and the harness 74 can be arranged from the back surface of the door lock device 10 (see FIG. 2). The harness 74 is arranged along the side surface of the door lock device 10 by a plurality of harness fasteners 26e. The latch unit 14 is further provided with a torsion spring (metal elastic body) 76 and a bumper rubber 78. The torsion spring 76 is made of metal and is made of, for example, stainless steel, piano wire, or spring steel. When the door is closed, the torsion spring 76 abuts on the latch pin 60d from immediately before the latch 60 reaches the full latch position to a predetermined overstroke position, and applies an elastic force to the latch 60 toward the open position. It is a part.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the upper case 58 of the latch unit 14 as viewed from the inside. As shown in FIG. 8, torsion springs 68, 72, 76 and bumper rubber 78 are attached to the upper case 58. The torsion spring 68 is mounted around the latch shaft 66 and the torsion spring 72 is mounted around the ratchet shaft 70.

The bumper rubber 78 has an irregular U-shape, and a protruding portion 58aa forming one side surface of the striker groove 58a is fitted and fixed to the central portion of the irregular U-shape. The contact end portion 78a of the bumper rubber 78 is exposed in the depth of the striker groove 58a, and the impact caused by the entering striker S is alleviated.

The torsion spring 76 includes a coil portion 76a, a locking end 76b, and a passive end 76c. The passive end 76c is bent at a bent portion 76d near the coil portion 76a. That is, the inclination of the passive end 76c is adjusted by the bent portion 76d, and the tip of the passive end 76c does not interfere with the locking end 76b and is at a position slightly separated from the locking end 76b. The locking end 76b extends forward along the side wall (locking portion) 58d of the upper case 58 and is locked by the side wall 58d. The passive end 76c extends substantially forward from the left and right substantially center of the coil portion 76a, and its tip is engaged with the stopper 80. The passive end 76c has a length sufficient to engage with the stopper 80, and is longer than the locking end 76b. The stopper 80 engages with the passive end 76c, limits the direction in which the elastic deformation of the torsion spring 76 returns, and is free in the direction in which the elastic deformation increases. The torsion spring 76 is maintained in an appropriately elastically deformed state by engaging the passive end 76c with the stopper 80. Approximately half of the rear side of the coil portion 76a is surrounded by a rear wall 58e of the upper case 58, and is fitted into a protruding post 58f.

The torsion spring 76 is held in a state of being elastically deformed by the stopper 80, and an elastic force is generated in a direction in which the locking end 76b and the passive end 76c are separated from each other. As a result, the torsion spring 76 receives a force toward the rear of the coil portion 76a, and the inner diameter portion of the coil portion 76a abuts on the front end surface of the post 58f and is stable.

Note that FIG. 8 shows a state in which the door is opened. As will be described later, when the door is closed, the latch pin 60d (see FIG. 7) presses and displaces the passive end 76c, and the passive end 76c is separated from the stopper 80.

Returning to FIGS. 1 and 3, the upper case 58 is a resin material that forms the housing of the latch unit 14 together with the third metal bracket 56. The upper case 58 has a striker groove 58a and shallow recesses 58b and 58c provided on the left and right upper surfaces of the striker groove 58a. The striker groove 58a forms a region in which the striker S enters together with the striker groove 56a. The recesses 58b and 58c have a shape in which the two lower end projecting pieces 17a and 17a of the first metal bracket 16 are fitted. The upper ends of the latch shaft 66 and the ratchet shaft 70 slightly protrude from the shaft support hole 17aa (see FIG. 3) provided in the lower end protruding piece 17a, and the tip is further processed so as to expand in a flange shape so as to be rotatable. It has been withdrawn.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the inside of the latch unit 14, the lever assembly 20, and the open lever 22. In FIG. 9, the limit switches 64a and 64b are omitted so as not to be complicated.

As shown in FIG. 9, the lever assembly 20 is arranged diagonally behind and above the latch shaft 66, and the tip action portion 54e (hereinafter referred to as the lever 54e) of the output lever 54 acts on the left surface of the latch pin 60d. It can also act on the right side of the main lever 22b. The open lever 22 is arranged diagonally behind and above the ratchet shaft 70, and the tip action portion 22e of the open lever 22 may act on the right surface of the ratchet pin 62b.

The latch pin 60d has a function of rotating the latch 60 by pressing the left surface by the lever 54e and a function of elastically deforming the torsion spring 76 by pressing the passive end 76c on the right surface. Although these two functions are shared by the latch pin 60d, the functions may be shared by individual parts. In this case, the component pressed by the lever 54e may have at least a cylindrical shape on the left surface to be pressed. Further, the component that presses the passive end 76c may have at least a cylindrical shape on the right surface that presses the passive end 76c.

The latch 60 is in a predetermined open position when the back door is open, and the holding notch 60a opens forward along the striker groove 56a. As the back door is closed, the striker S enters the striker groove 56a, enters the holding notch 60a, and rotates the latch 60 clockwise. Then, when the latch 60 rotates to the half latch position, the engaging claw 62a of the ratchet 62 temporarily engages with the half latch engaging recess 60c, and the latch 60 temporarily engages the striker S. The latch 60 is restricted from rotating in the counterclockwise direction, and the cam 60e operates the limit switch 64a (see FIG. 7).

The control unit recognizes that the limit switch 64a is turned on, drives the motor 34 to rotate, rotates the output shaft 32 counterclockwise, and moves the lever 54e to the right as shown by the virtual line. .. The lever 54e presses and moves the latch pin 60d, and the latch 60 rotates clockwise. Then, the striker S is guided to the back while being held in the holding notch 60a.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the latch unit 14 when the latch pin 60d comes into contact with the passive end 76c of the torsion spring 76 at a position immediately before the latch 60 reaches the full latch position. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the latch unit 14 when the latch 60 is in the full latch position. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the latch unit 14 when the latch 60 is in the overstroke position. In FIGS. 10 to 12, the ratchet 62, torsion springs 68, 72 and the like are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 10, the side surface of the latch pin 60d comes into contact with the passive end 76c of the torsion spring 76 just before the latch 60 reaches the full latch position. After that, as the latch 60 rotates toward the full latch position and the overstroke position, the coil portion 76a of the torsion spring 76 is twisted and compressed, and an elastic force corresponding to the amount of twisting compression is applied to the latch 60. Give. In the following, torsional compression is also referred to simply as compression. The latch pin 60d is slightly in contact with the tip side of the bent portion 76d. Depending on the conditions, the side surface of the latch pin 60d may be in contact with the passive end 76c of the torsion spring 76 when the latch 60 is in the full latch position.

When the latch 60 rotates toward the full latch position, the latch pin 60d and the passive end 68c slide and abut against each other. That is, when the latch pin 60d first contacts the passive end 76c, that is, in the state shown in FIG. 10, the latch pin 60d contacts the root side (closer to the bent portion 76e) of the passive end 76c, and then with the rotation of the latch 60. The contact position moves to the tip side of the passive end 76c.

The contact position between the latch pin 60d and the passive end 68c moves as it slides, gradually moving away from the center of the coil portion 68a, and the elastic force due to the unit displacement of the striker S or the rotation of the latch 60 per unit angle. The rate of increase is small, and the elastic force does not increase sharply. Further, the rate of increase in this elastic force can be adjusted by the degree of bending of the bent portion 76e. This will be further described later based on FIG.

As shown in FIG. 11, when the latch 60 is in the full latch position, the latch pin 60d pushes in the passive end 68c, and a gap 84 is formed between the passive end 68c and the stopper 80. At this point, the gap 84 is sufficiently narrow, but the torsion spring 76 is held in a state of being elastically deformed in advance by the stopper 80, and the torsion spring 76 is further elastically deformed by the pressing of the latch pin 60d, and the latch pin 60d has a certain size. The elastic force of the spring is given. This is shown at the end 90 of FIG. 13, which will be described later.

When the back door is closed in this way, the latch 60 is in the full latch position shown in FIG. 7, the engaging claw 62a of the ratchet 62 is engaged with the full latch engaging recess 60b, and the latch 60 is restricted from rotating in the counterclockwise direction. To.

As shown in FIG. 12, the latch 60 rotates beyond the full latch position to the overstroke position. In the closer type door lock device 10, it is required that the door is securely closed by the motor 34 even when used in a vehicle for a long period of time. If it is used for a long period of time, there is a concern that the parts may be worn out, loosened, or deformed. The latch 60 is rotated to the overstroke position. Then, the cam 60e operates the limit switch 64b (see FIG. 7). The control unit recognizes that the limit switch 64b is turned on, drives the motor 34 to rotate in the reverse direction, rotates the output shaft 32 in the clockwise direction, and returns the output lever 54 to a predetermined initial position.

As the latch 60 rotates to the overstroke position, the latch pin 60d further rotates around the latch shaft 66 to increase the gap 84, and the torsion spring 76 is further compressed. The bumper rubber 78 (see FIG. 8) is also appropriately compressed by the striker S.

Then, an elastic force in the door opening direction is applied to the striker S from the passive end 76c via the latch pin 60d and the latch 60, and an elastic force is also applied from the bumper rubber 78. As described above, the torsion spring 76 is held in a state of being elastically deformed in advance by the stopper 80, and a moderately large elastic force is generated by forming a gap 84, and this elastic force is due to the bumper rubber 78. It is set to be larger than the elastic force. That is, the elastic force applied to the striker S is mainly due to the torsion spring 76, and the bumper rubber 78 may be omitted depending on the conditions.

In this way, in the closed state of the back door, a moderately large elastic force is applied to the striker S mainly from the torsion spring 76 in the door opening direction. The back door has a mechanism that opens and closes with reference to the horizontal axis, and because it is heavy, it is easily affected by vibration during running, but it is loose due to the moderately large elastic force applied to the striker S. It is possible to prevent the generation of sticking and abnormal noise. This mechanism for preventing rattling is basically realized by a torsion spring 76, and a compact, lightweight, simple and inexpensive configuration is possible.

Further, since the torsion spring 76 is made of metal, there is almost no change in hardness due to temperature, and the elastic force applied to the striker S is substantially constant both at low temperature and high temperature. Therefore, the load on the motor 34 that rotates the latch 60 is substantially constant regardless of the temperature, the door cannot be closed, and the motor 34 does not need to have an excessively high output or large size.

After that, when the user operates the button to open the back door, the control unit recognizes this, drives the motor 34 to rotate, rotates the output shaft 32 in FIG. 9 in the clockwise direction, and moves the lever 54e to the left in FIG. Move in the direction. The lever 54e presses and moves the ratchet pin 62b via the open lever 22, and the ratchet 62 rotates counterclockwise. Then, the engaging claw 62a of the ratchet 62 comes out of the full latch engaging recess 60b, and the back door can be opened. After this, the lever 54e is returned to the initial position.

FIG. 13 is a graph showing the relationship between the repulsive force and the latch stroke position for the five means for applying the repulsive force to the latch 60 at room temperature. FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 described later are graphs estimated based on theory, experiment, experience, and the like. G15 in FIG. 13 is a graph when the torsion spring 76 is used, and substantially corresponds to the case of the door lock device 10 described above. G11 to G14 are comparative examples with respect to G15. G11 is a graph in the case where a repulsive force is applied to the latch 60 only by the bumper rubber 78. G12 is a graph when a catch bumper R (see FIG. 7) of a resin elastic body (for example, rubber) is used instead of the torsion spring 76. G13 is a graph when the bumper rubber 78 and the catch bumper R are used. G14 is a graph when a bumper rubber 78 whose position has been adjusted is used.

The vertical axis of FIG. 13 is the repulsive force, that is, the elastic force applied to the latch 60. The horizontal axis of FIG. 13 is the displacement with respect to the striker S, and the left side is the door opening direction and the right side is the door closing direction. Further, "0" is the full latch position. The horizontal axis of FIG. 13 can be approximately replaced with the rotation angle of the latch 60.

The door lock device 10 overstrokes to, for example, a 2 mm position. In the range A centered on "0", it is necessary to apply an appropriate repulsive force to the striker S in order to prevent rattling and abnormal noise of the back door. On the other hand, the door lock device 10 overstrokes up to 2 mm, but in that case, it is desirable that the repulsive force does not become excessive.

In the case of the graph G11, that is, the bumper rubber 78 alone, the repulsive force sufficient to support the back door cannot be obtained. In the case of the graph G12, that is, only the catch bumper R, the repulsive force cannot be obtained in the range where the catch bumper R (see FIG. 7) and the side surface of the latch 60 do not abut, and conversely, the repulsive force is excessive in the overstroke region. Will be. In the case of the graph G13, that is, the bumper rubber 78 and the catch bumper R, the repulsive force is obtained from the region where the striker S is negative, but the repulsive force rises sharply in the overstroke region. In the graph G14, the contact end 78a (see FIG. 8) of the bumper rubber 78 was moved and adjusted to reduce the initial repulsive force. In this case, the repulsive force becomes too small over almost the entire region, and an appropriate effect cannot be obtained only by adjusting the position of the bumper rubber 78.

On the other hand, when the graph G15, that is, the torsion spring 76 is used, an appropriate repulsive force is obtained in the range A, and the repulsive force is appropriately suppressed even in the overstroke region. Therefore, as described above, the load on the motor 34 is also suppressed. In the graph G15, the end 90 on the door opening side rises in a stepped manner due to the action of the stopper 80. This has the effect of shifting the repulsive force of the graph G15 so as to increase as a whole, and a suitable repulsive force can be obtained in the range A.

Further, in the overstroke region (on the right side of “0” in FIG. 13) with respect to the full latch position “0” mm, the graphs G11 to G14 gradually have a steeper inclination (degree of increase) (in other words, the second derivative). On the other hand, the graph G15 tends to have a gradual slope (in other words, the second derivative value becomes negative), and the repulsive force is suppressed. Such a characteristic of the graph G15 is due to the fact that the contact position between the latch pin 60d and the passive end 68c moves with sliding as described above. Further, the characteristics can be adjusted to some extent by the degree of bending of the bent portion 76e. The latch pin 60d has a cylindrical shape and slides smoothly.

FIG. 14 is a graph showing the influence of the temperature change on the repulsive force for the two means for applying the repulsive force to the latch 60. G24 in FIG. 14 is a graph when the torsion spring 76 is used, and substantially corresponds to the case of the door lock device 10 described above. G21 to G23 are comparative examples with respect to G24. G21 in FIG. 14 is a graph at room temperature when the catch bumper R (see FIG. 7) is used. G22 is a graph at low temperature when the catch bumper R is used. G23 is a graph at high temperature when the catch bumper R is used. Graph G21 corresponds to graph G12 of FIG. 13, and graph G24 corresponds to graph G15 of FIG. The vertical axis of FIG. 14 is the repulsive force, and the horizontal axis is the displacement of the striker S.

When the catch bumper R is used as in G21 to G23 in FIG. 14, an appropriate repulsive force can be obtained at the full latch position, that is, at the position of "0" mm, but the repulsive force becomes large in the overstroke region. It ends up. Especially in G22 at low temperature, the repulsive force is excessive and the load on the motor 34 is large. Further, as in the graph G23, the repulsive force becomes low as a whole at a high temperature, and an appropriate repulsive force cannot be obtained at the full latch position. On the other hand, since the torsion spring 76 is made of metal, it is not affected by temperature changes, and the graph G24 has almost no change from low temperature to high temperature, and an appropriate repulsive force can be obtained.

Next, the reason why the characteristics as shown in the graphs G15 and G24 can be obtained in the door lock device 10 will be further described.

15A and 15B are views for explaining the operation of the striker S, the latch 60, the ratchet 62 and the torsion spring 76, FIG. 15A is an explanatory view immediately before the full latch, and FIG. 15B is an explanatory view of the full latch position. c) is an explanatory diagram of the overstroke position.

Here, TS is the torque that the torsion spring 76 pushes the latch pin 60d. In the case of the catch bumper R (see Fig. 7) of the resin elastic body, the load is not proportional to the stroke and draws a sharp rising curve, whereas the TS has a twist angle and twist due to the characteristics of the torsion spring 76. It increases proportionally with the amount of compression. The contact point P is the contact position between the latch pin 60d and the passive end 76c. RS is the distance from the center of the coil portion 76a to the contact point P, and RL is the distance from the latch shaft 66 to the contact point P. The force FS that the passive end 76c pushes the latch pin 60d is FS = TS / RS. The torque TL for pushing the latch 60 back to the center of the shaft is TL = FS × RL.

The repulsive force FL that pushes back the striker S is FL = TL / RC. FL corresponds to the repulsive force of FIGS. 13 and 14. RC is the lateral distance between the striker S and the latch shaft 66. When these are arranged, FL = (TS × RL) / (RS × RC) = TS × (1 / RC) × (RL / RS). Since RC is almost constant in FIGS. 15 (a) to 15 (c) and TS increases proportionally with respect to the twist angle, the tendency of the graphs G15 and G24 showing the repulsive force FL is (RL). / RS) depends on the change. In the door lock device 10, (RL / RS) is set to decrease according to the stroke of the striker S, and the graphs G15 and G24 have the characteristic that the increase rate decreases as described above, and the FL becomes excessively large. There is no. (RL / RS) can be changed by sliding the latch pin 60d and the passive end 76c and changing the position of the contact point P.

If both the latch pin 60d and the torsion spring 76 are made of metal, a metallic noise may be generated at the time of contact. In order to prevent such metallic noise, for example, as shown in FIG. 16, a cushioning material 60da may be provided on the latch pin 60d, and a cushioning material 76ca may be provided on the passive end 76c of the torsion spring 76. The cushioning material 76ca may include the position of the bent portion 76d. The cushioning materials 60da and 76ca are, for example, thin tubular urethane materials. If the cushioning material 60da and the cushioning material 76ca are provided on at least one of the contact surfaces of the latch 60 and the torsion spring 76, a corresponding effect can be obtained.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional side view of the rear portion of the vehicle 100 provided with the door lock device 10. The door lock device 10 is provided at the lower end of the back door 102 of the vehicle 100, and the portion of the latch unit 14 engages with the striker S on the vehicle 100 main body side to keep the back door 102 in a closed state. The back door 102 is, for example, a hatchback type hatch or a trunk lid of a trunk, and opens and closes with reference to the horizontal axis 102a at the upper end. When the back door 102 is closed, the inside of the vehicle 100 is kept airtight by the weather stripper 104. The weather stripper 104 is provided over the entire circumference of the opening of the back door 102. As described above, the door lock device 10 prevents rattling and abnormal noise of the back door 102 that opens and closes with respect to the horizontal axis 102a. Further, the weather stripper 104 does not require any measures to prevent rattling and can be reduced in price.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that the present invention can be freely changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

10 Door lock device 12 Motor unit 14 Latch unit 20 Lever assembly 22e Tip action part 34 Motor 54e Tip action part 56a Striker groove 60c Half latch engagement recess 60b Full latch engagement recess 60 Latch 60d Latch pin 60da, 76ca Buffer material 60a Holding notch 62 Ratchet 62b Ratchet pin 62a Engagement claw 66 Latch shaft 70 Ratchet shaft 76 Torsion spring 76a Coil part 76b Locking end 76c Passive end 76d Bending part 78 Bumper rubber 78a Contact end 80 Stopper 100 Vehicle 102 Back door 102a Horizontal axis R Catch Bumper S striker

Claims (7)

A latch that is pressed and rotated by a striker entering from the striker groove, temporarily engages the striker at the half-latch position, and further rotates by the driving force of a motor to engage the striker at the full latch position.
When the latch rotates from the half-latch position and reaches or before reaching the full latch position, it abuts on a part of the latch and elastically deforms to urge the latch in the direction opposite to the rotation direction. When,
A stopper that holds the metal elastic body in an elastically deformed state before it comes into contact with the latch.
Equipped with
A door lock device characterized in that the metal elastic body is further elastically deformed by pressing the latch . A latch that is pressed and rotated by a striker entering from the striker groove, temporarily engages the striker at the half-latch position, and further rotates by the driving force of a motor to engage the striker at the full latch position.
When the latch rotates from the half-latch position and reaches or before reaching the full latch position, it abuts on a part of the latch and elastically deforms to urge the latch in the direction opposite to the rotation direction. When,
Equipped with
The latch can rotate to a region of overstroke beyond the full latch position and
A door lock device characterized in that the elastic force received by the latch gradually increases in the region of the overstroke as the latch rotates . The metal elastic body is a torsion spring, wherein one locking end is locked to a locking portion and the other passive end abuts on a part of the latch to urge the latch. Item 2. The door lock device according to Item 1 or 2 . The door lock device according to claim 3 , wherein the latch and the passive end are displaced while sliding after being in contact with each other. The door lock device according to claim 3 or 4 , wherein a bent portion is formed between the coil portion of the torsion spring and the passive end. The door lock device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein a cushioning material is provided on at least one of the contact surfaces of the latch and the metal elastic body. The door lock device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the door lock device is provided on a back door of a vehicle that opens and closes with respect to a horizontal axis.

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