JPH0588340B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention aims to solve the following problems.

(Industrial Application Field) This invention relates to a door lock device for an automobile.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a door lock device for an automobile equipped with an operating device using an electric motor.

(Prior Art) An automobile door lock device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 54-30317 is shown in FIG. In such an automobile door lock device, the door latch 91 can be manually operated by the lock knob 93 or electrically operated by the electric operating device 94. However, in the case of electric operation, there is a risk that the teeth of the reduction gears 96, 97 may break due to the following reasons. That is, for example, from the illustrated state, the rotation of the motor 95 causes the reduction gears 96, 9 to
When the swing gear 98 is turned downward via the lever 7, the locking lever 92 is moved downward via the rod 99. When the locking lever 92 reaches the lock position and suddenly stops there, the swing gear 98 also suddenly stops via the rod 99. Due to this sudden stop of the swing gear 98, the reduction gears 97, 96 and the motor 95 are also brought to a sudden stop. However, those gears 97, 96 and motor 95 still have rotational inertia. For this reason, those gears 97, 96 and motor 9
Due to the sudden stop of gear 5, a shockingly large force is applied to the teeth of gears 97 and 96. As a result, there is a risk that some of the teeth may break.

Further, in the automobile door lock device having the above structure, after the electric operation, the rod 99 to which the swing gear 98, the reduction gears 97, 96, and the electric motor 95 are connected is moved by the return spring 100. Returned to neutral position. Therefore, the manual operation described above can be performed with light force.

However, in the case of return using the above-mentioned return spring 100,
When the return is started, the swing gear 98, deceleration gears 97, 96, motor 95, etc. connected to the rod 99 are all in a stopped state. Therefore, a large force is required to start them. For this reason, the return spring 100 requires a large spring force commensurate with the large force required to start it.

If the spring force of the return spring 100 is large as described above, in the case of the electric operation, the load on the electric motor 95 increases by the amount of the spring force of the return spring 100. Therefore, the electric motor 95 needs to be large and have a large output.

Furthermore, if the spring force of the return spring 100 is large as described above, in the case of returning to the neutral position as described above,
The rotation speed of the swing gear 98 and the reduction gears 97 and 96 in the positive direction is fast. As a result, those gears produce loud meshing noises.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The present invention aims to provide an automobile door lock device that eliminates the above-mentioned conventional problems.

That is, a first object of the present invention is to provide a door locking device for an automobile in which a door latch can be locked or unlocked by manually operating a lock knob.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a door locking device for a motor vehicle in which a door latch can be locked or unlocked by rotation of an electric motor.

A third object of the present invention is to reduce the possibility that when a door latch is operated by the rotational force of an electric motor, a part of the gear teeth for transmitting the rotational force of the motor will break. An object of the present invention is to provide a door lock device for an automobile.

That is, in the automobile door locking device of the present invention, the rotational force of the electric motor is transmitted to the locking lever of the door latch in the following manner. That is, the rotational force of the electric motor is first transmitted to the first rocking body via the reduction gear. Next, it is transmitted to the second rocking body via the push member provided on the first rocking body and the receiver provided on the second rocking body. The force is then transmitted from the second rocking body to the locking lever of the door latch. In this way, when the rotational force is transmitted and the locking lever moves, and it stops at the locked or unlocked position, the second rocking body is also mechanically stopped at the same time. Then, the first rocking body, the reduction gear, and the electric motor are also mechanically stopped via the receiver and the push member. In this case, one of the receiver and the push member is made of an elastic body. Therefore, the inertial force of the first rocking body, the reduction gear, and the electric motor can be absorbed by the elastic body. For this reason, the first rocking body, the reduction gear,
It can alleviate sudden stops of electric motors. In other words, the sky can be stopped gently. the result,
Breakage of some of the teeth of the reduction gear can be prevented.

A fourth object of the present invention is to enable the door latch to be operated manually with very light force after the door latch is operated by the rotational force of the electric motor. An object of the present invention is to provide a door lock device for an automobile.

That is, in the automobile door locking device of the present invention, after the operation by the motor, the first swinging member is moved while the second swinging member remains in the position corresponding to the locking or unlocking position of the locking lever. It is returned to the neutral position by a return spring. As a result, a gap is formed between the pushing member of the first rocking body and the receiving body of the second rocking body.
This gap is a gap that allows the second rocking body to freely rotate between the lock position and the unlocked position without being affected by the first rocking body. Therefore, when the locking lever is manually operated by the locking knob, the reduction gear and motor are not loaded by the operation. Therefore, manual operation can be performed with light force.

A fifth object of the present invention is that even if the first rocking body is returned to the neutral position by the return spring as described above, the return spring may have a weak spring force. As a result, it is an object of the present invention to provide a door lock device for an automobile that allows the use of a small-sized motor as the electric motor.

That is, in the automobile door lock device of the present invention, the push member or receiver made of an elastic material deforms by absorbing the inertial force as described above. Therefore, due to the deformation, these pushing members or receivers accumulate a repulsive force determined by the amount of deformation and their own elasticity. In the present invention, the first rocking body can be started to rotate in the return direction using the repulsive force. After it starts rotating, it is sufficient to apply a small biasing force to the first rocking body necessary for continuing the rotation. Therefore, a return spring with a small spring force can be used to apply the biasing force.
If the spring force of the return spring is small in this manner, when locking or unlocking is performed using the power of the motor as described above, the spring force of the return spring is less likely to become a load on the motor. Therefore, the output of the motor may be relatively small, making it possible to use a small motor.

Another object of the present invention is to reduce the initial speed at the beginning of rotation even when the first rocking body starts rotating in the return direction using the repulsive force stored as described above. As a result, it is an object of the present invention to provide a door lock device for an automobile in which the speed at which the return spring rotates to return to the neutral position can be reduced, and the operating noise can be reduced.

That is, when the push member or receiver made of an elastic body is deformed as described above, it accumulates a large repulsive force corresponding to the amount of deformation. However, in the present invention, only a part of the repulsive force is used to start rotating the first rocking body. Therefore, the initial speed at the beginning of rotation is small. When the initial speed is small in this way, together with the small spring force of the return spring, the speed at which the first rocking body returns to the neutral position and rotates is small. Then, the rotational speed of the reduction gear during the return rotation is small, and the noise generated by the meshing of the teeth of these gears is small. In other words, it can be operated quietly.

The configuration of the present invention is as follows.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention takes the measures as described in the claims above, and its effects are as follows.

(Function) The door latch can be locked or unlocked by manually operating the lock knob. Furthermore, the door latch can be locked or unlocked by means of an electric operating device.

(Example) Below, drawings showing examples of the present application will be described. In FIG. 1, an automobile door lock device 4
includes a striker 5 attached to the body 2 of the automobile 1, a door latch 6 attached to the door 3 of the automobile 1, and an electric operating device 7 attached to the door 3. The door latch 6 is well known and has a locking lever 11 as shown in FIG. This lever 11 is capable of reciprocating movement between an unlocked position shown in solid lines in FIG. 2 and a locked position shown in phantom lines. Locking lever 11
As is well known, a lock knob 12 for manual operation is connected via a rod 13.

Next, the electric operating device 7 will be explained in detail based on FIGS. 2 to 5. The operating device 7 includes a case 15, an output shaft 16 rotatably attached to the case, and first and second rocking bodies 17 and 18.
An electric motor 19, a deceleration gear 20 for decelerating the rotational force of the electric motor 19 and transmitting it to the first rocking body 17, and a return spring for biasing the first rocking body 17 toward a neutral position. 21.

The case 15 consists of a main body 22 and a lid 23 placed over the main body 22. The main body 22 and the lid body 2
3 are all made of synthetic resin material.

Next, the output shaft 16 is made of metal, and one end thereof protrudes from the main body 22 of the case, and an output lever 24 is fixed thereto. The output lever 24 is connected via a rod 25 to the locking lever 11 of the door latch 6.

Next, the first rocking body 17 is made of synthetic resin material. This first rocking body 17 is mounted so as to be rotatable relative to the output shaft 16.
It is designed to be able to swing left and right around the neutral position shown in the figure. Further, this first rocking body 17 has a first pushing member 26 on the side facing the second rocking body 18 for pushing the second rocking body 18 clockwise in FIG.
and a second pushing member 27 for pushing counterclockwise.
Equipped with. In this embodiment, the push members 26 and 27 are formed integrally with each other. In these pushing members 26 and 27, surfaces 26a and 27a facing receivers 30 and 32, which will be described later, are surfaces that are inclined with respect to the circumferential direction centering on the output shaft 16.

Next, the second rocking body 18 is made of a synthetic resin material and is fixed to the output shaft 16 using a pin 36. The second rocking body 18 has an abutting body 37 for the locked position and an abutting body 38 for the unlocked position. Those abutting bodies 37 and 38 are the main body 2 of the case.
By contacting the stopper 33 provided in 2,
The swinging range of the second swinging body 18 is limited between the unlocked position shown in FIG. 6A and the locked position shown in FIGS. 6B-E. Their unlocking and locking positions correspond to the unlocking and locking positions of the locking lever 11 in the door latch 6. The two mounting recesses 29 and 31 formed in the second rocking body 18 have first and second mounting recesses 29 and 31 for receiving the pushing forces of the first and second pushing members 26 and 27, respectively.
and second receivers 30, 32 are attached.
Both of the receivers 30 and 32 are made of an elastic material such as rubber. Also those receptors 30,3
The receiving surfaces 30a and 32a in 2, that is, the surfaces facing the pushing member, are both inclined with respect to the direction of rotation of the pushing members 26 and 27 about the output shaft 16, as clearly shown in FIG. It has become a very popular place. Further, the positions of the receivers 30 and 32 are such that the swing range between the unlocked position and the locked position of the second swing body 18 is limited when the first swing body 17 is in the neutral position. It is set in a position where there is no. That is, when the second electric operating device 18 is in the unlocked position or in the locked position, the first
The space is located between the push member 26 and the first receiver 30 and between the second push member 27 and the second receiver 32, respectively. The stopper 33 for receiving the abutting bodies 37 and 38 of the second rocking body 18 includes a protruding piece 34 protruding from the main body 22 of the case and a protruding piece 34 around the protruding piece 34, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. It is composed of a cushioning body 35 made of rubber or the like fitted therein. The stopper 33 and the contact bodies 37, 38 are
The second swinging body 1818 is provided as an auxiliary member to prevent the locking lever 11 of the door latch 6 from moving excessively beyond the unlocked and locked positions. Therefore, if the door latch 6 is provided with stoppers such as those shown at 33a and 33b in FIG. 2 to prevent the locking lever 11 from moving beyond the unlocked and locked positions. In this case, the stopper 33 and the contact members 37 and 38 may be omitted.

The electric motor 19 is then attached to the main body 22 of the case using a bracket 40. The motor 19 rotates around the rotating shaft 4 depending on the direction of the current flowing through it.
1 rotates forward or backward. Next, the reduction gear 20 includes a pinion 42 attached to the rotating shaft 41 of the motor, a large-diameter first gear 44 that meshes with the pinion 42, and a small-diameter second gear 45 integrally formed with the first gear 44. and a third gear 46 that is formed integrally with the first rocking body 17 and meshes with the second gear 45. The first and second gears 44, 45
is rotatably attached to the case 15 by a shaft 43. Next, the return spring 21 is moved to the first rocking body 17.
3 and 4, and is attached to a mounting portion 47 formed integrally with the first rocking body 17, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The one end 21a and the other end 21b of the return spring 21 are located on both sides of a hooking piece 48 integrally formed with the lid 23 and a connecting piece 49 integrally formed with the first rocking body 17 in the case.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained.
First, the case where the door latch 6 which is in the unlocked state is brought into the locked state by the electric operating device 7 will be described. When the locking lever 11 of the door latch 6 is in the unlocked position as shown by the solid line in FIG.
The rocker 18 is in the unlocked position as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, respectively. Also, this state is shown in Figure 6A.
It is also shown in In this state, when a current for locking operation is applied to the motor 19 by a well-known switch operation (not shown), the rotating shaft 41 of the motor 19 rotates clockwise in FIG. 4. This rotation causes the first rocking body 17 to rotate clockwise via the reduction gear 20. In the process of rotation, the first pushing member 26 comes into contact with the receiving surface 30a of the receiving body 30. After the contact, the second rocking body 18 rotates clockwise together with the first rocking body 17, and eventually rotates to the lock position shown in FIG. 6B. In this lock position, the contact body 37 contacts the stopper 33, and the second
The rotation of the rocking body 18 stops. As the second rocking body 18 rotates in this manner, the output shaft 16 also rotates together, and the output lever 24 changes from the state shown in FIG. 6A to the state shown in FIG. 6BB. As a result, Rod 25
The locking lever 11 of the door latch 6 is moved to the locking position via the locking lever 11 of the door latch 6. Also, in the above process, the spring foot 21b of the return spring 21 is connected to the connecting piece 49.
It is pushed and moved as shown in FIG. 6B. As a result, the spring 21 stores a biasing force for returning the first rocking body 17 to the neutral position.

When the rotation of the second oscillator 18 is stopped by the stopper 33 as described above, the rotational force is applied from the motor 19 to the first oscillator 17 via the deceleration gear 20 and the motor 19 and the deceleration gear 20 or the rotational force due to the inertia of the first rocking body 17, the first pushing member 26 is pressed against the receiving surface 30a of the receiving body 30, as shown in FIG. 6C. Then, the receiving surface 30a becomes compressed, and eventually the motor 19, the gear 20, and the first rocking body 17 stop rotating. That is, the receiver 30 absorbs the inertial force of the motor 19, the gear 20, and the first rocking body 17, and causes them to stop slowly. This prevents some of the teeth in the pinion 42 and gears 44, 45, and 46 from breaking.

After the motor 19 has stopped as described above, power to it is cut off. Then, as shown above, receptor 3
Due to the repulsive force stored in the pusher 30 due to the compression of the receiver 30, the first pushing member 2
A counterclockwise push-back force is applied to 6 in FIG. 6C. Due to the pushing back force, the first rocking body 1
7 and the reduction gear 20 and motor 19 connected thereto.
can start turning in the return direction. in this case,
The return spring 21 which has accumulated the biasing force as described above also applies a counterclockwise return force to the first rocking body 17 via the connecting piece 49. As the first rocking body 17 and the like start rotating in the return direction as described above, the first rocking body 17 changes from the state shown in FIG. 6C to the state shown in FIG. 6D. Thereafter, the first rocking body 17, etc. continues to rotate in the return direction due to the biasing force of the return spring 21, and the first rocking body 17 returns to the neutral position as shown in FIG. 6E. .

Next, in the configuration described above, the push member 26 comes into contact with the receiver 30 after the first rocking body 17 starts rotating, as described above. That is, the first rocking body 1
7, the reduction gear 20, the motor 19, etc., have rotational inertia, and the pushing member 26 comes into contact with the receiver 30. Therefore, a thrust greater than the force exerted by the motor 19 can be applied to the second rocking body 18 . This point will be explained over time based on FIG. First T1
At the point in time, the motor 19 starts rotating. Next T2
The push member 26 comes into contact with the receiver 30 at the time point. In this case, the first rocking body 17 and the like have rotational inertia as described above. Therefore, a large thrust as indicated by reference numeral 51 can be applied to the two rocking bodies 18 through the contact of the push member 26 with the receiver 30. This makes it possible to start moving the second oscillator 18, output shaft 16, etc. even if they are frozen relative to the case 15 or the locking lever 11 of the latch 6 is frozen. do. After applying a large thrust due to inertia as described above, the motor 19
A normal thrust force is applied to the second rocking body 18. Thereafter, at time T3, the power to the motor 19 is cut off, so that no thrust is applied to the second rocking body 18.

Next, regarding the force relationship when the receiver 30 is compressed by the first pushing member 26 as shown in FIG. This will be explained in detail based on FIG. As mentioned above, the force of the first pushing member 26 pushing the receiving surface 30a of the receiving body 30 due to the rotational force of the motor 19 and the inertia of the motor 19, the gear 20, the first rocking body 17, etc. is F1 in FIG. shown. This power F
1 is a force in the circumferential direction centered on the output shaft 16. This force F1 consists of a component force F2 that pushes the receiving surface 30a perpendicularly and a component force F3 that is parallel to the receiving surface 30a.
give. The component force F3 is a frictional force, which disappears as heat. On the other hand, the receiving surface 30a receiving the above-mentioned component force F2 receives the first pushing member 2 as a repulsive force.
Give force F4 to 6. This force F4 is the above force F2
It is a force in the opposite direction. This force F4 gives a component force F5 in the circumferential direction around the output shaft 16 and a component force F6 in the radial direction toward the output shaft 16. Of these component forces, only F5 acts as a force that pushes back the first pushing member 26 and rotates the first rocking body 17 in the return direction. Therefore, the force F5 with which the receiver 30 pushes back the first pushing member 26 is extremely small. For example, the repulsive force is much smaller than the repulsive force stored in the receiver 30 when the push member 26 compresses the receiver 30. When the pushing back force is small in this way, the initial speed when the first rocking body 17 and the reduction gear 20 start rotating counterclockwise is small. As a result, the rotational speed of the deceleration gear 20 when the first rocking body 17 returns to the neutral position and rotates is small. Therefore, the meshing noise between the gears 46 and 45 or the meshing noise between the gear 44 and the pinion 42 is suppressed to a relatively low level.

Next, when the electric operating device 7 is used to change the door latch 6 from the locked state to the unlocked state, a current of opposite polarity to that in the above case is passed through the motor 19. Then, the motor 19 rotates in the opposite direction. As a result, the same operations as described above are carried out in each member in the opposite direction to those in the above case, and the door latch 6 is brought into an unlocked state.

Next, manual operation will be explained. By manually lowering or raising the locking knob 12, the locking lever 11 is moved to the locking position or the unlocking position, respectively.
In these cases, the second oscillator 18 is connected to the sixth oscillator via the rod 25, output lever 24, output shaft 16, etc.
Move to the locked position shown in Figure E or the unlocked position shown in Figure 6A. When the second rocking body 18 moves in this way, the first rocking body 17 is in the neutral position, so the movement of the second rocking body 18 is not transmitted to the first rocking body 17. Therefore, the movement of the second rocking body 18 is light. As a result, only a small amount of force is needed to manually operate the lock knob 12.

Next, the first push member 26 and the first receiver 30
Regarding the relationship, the first push member 26 may be made of an elastic material, and the first receiver 30 may be made of a hard material. Also, the second push member 27 and the second receiver 3
The same applies to the relationship with 2.

Next, FIGS. 9A and 9B show another embodiment of the present application, in which the cross-sectional shapes of the first and second push members 26e and 27e are different from those of the previous embodiment.

It should be noted that the same reference numerals as those in the previous figure are appended with an alphanumeric letter "e" for parts that are functionally the same or equivalent to those in the previous figure, and redundant explanations are omitted.
(Furthermore, in the following figures, the same concept is applied in order, and the alpha alphabets f and g are attached in order to omit redundant explanations.) Next, Fig. 10 A and B show the first and second receptors. 3
This shows an example in which the shapes of the receiving surfaces 30af and 32af at 0f and 32f are V-shaped.

Next, FIGS. 1A and 1B show the first and second receivers 30
This shows an example in which g and 32g are constructed of a resin piece integrally formed with the second rocking body 18g. Each receptor 30
g and 32g can have elasticity when pressed by the pushing member by making their thickness t appropriately thin.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the present invention has the effect of achieving the above object.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present application, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an automobile equipped with a door lock device, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between a door latch, a lock knob, and an electric operating device, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an automobile equipped with a door lock device. FIG. 4 is a front view of the electric operating device with the lid removed and a part of the reduction gear cut away; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along V-V in FIG. 3. A line sectional view, FIGS. 6A to 6E are operation explanatory diagrams of the electric operating device,
Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the forces applied to the receiver and their repulsive forces, Fig. 8 is a graph showing temporal changes in the thrust applied to the second rocking body, and Figs. 9 A and B are cross sections of the pushing member. 10A and 10B are sectional views showing examples of different shapes; FIGS. 10A and B are sectional views showing an example in which the receiving surface of the receiver is formed in a V-shape; FIGS. 11A and B are sectional views showing examples in which the receiver is integrated with the second rocking body. FIG. 12 is a partially sectional front view showing a conventional door lock device. 6...Door latch, 7...Electric operation device, 11...
Locking lever, 12...locking knob.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A door latch having a locking lever that can freely reciprocate between a locking position and an unlocking position, a locking knob for manual operation connected to the locking lever, and a door latch for electrically operating the locking lever. In the automobile door lock device, the electric operating device includes a case, a first rocking body pivotally connected to the case so as to be able to swing from side to side about a neutral position; A second rocking body is pivotally connected to the case on the same axis as the first rocking body, and an electric motor is connected to the first rocking body through a reduction gear and is rotatable in forward and reverse directions. a motor, and a return spring attached to the first rocking body for biasing the first rocking body toward a neutral position, the second rocking body being pressed against the locking lever of the door latch. The first rocking body further includes:
A first pushing member for pushing the second rocking body in one direction and a second pushing member for pushing the second rocking body in the other direction are provided. a first receiver for receiving pushing force; and the second receiver.
and a second receiver for receiving the pushing force from the pushing member, and the positions of the receivers are such that when the first rocking body is in the neutral position, the locking position of the locking lever and the unlocking position of the locking lever are different from each other. The swing range of the second swing body corresponding to the reciprocating movement between the two positions is set at a position that is not limited by the first and second push members, and Either one of the receivers, and one of the second push member and the second receiver are each made of an elastic body,
Furthermore, the mutual contact surfaces of the push member and the receiver are inclined with respect to a circumferential direction centered on the pivot centers of the first and second rocking bodies.