KR101718805B1 - Door handle assembly of a vehicle door equipped with acceleration sensors - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a door handle assembly for a vehicle door having an acceleration sensor, which is to prevent unintended opening of a vehicle door in a sudden collision. According to the present invention, the door handle assembly for a vehicle door includes: a handle provided on the outer side of the vehicle door; a lever located to be adjacent to the handle; the acceleration sensor connected to the lever to functionally operate and provided on the inner side of the vehicle door; and a flat inner leg installed in the handle and connected to the lever. The acceleration sensor comprises: a body having a space inside; a shaft inserted and fixed to the body; a balance spring installed on one end of the shaft; and a weight spring installed on the other end of the shaft. The lever is formed of an L-shape having a head unit and a tail unit and includes a center rod passing through a path installed in the vehicle door and formed at a part in which the head unit and the tail unit are connected. The head unit includes a hole called a first hole and accommodates a latch rod of a locking tool. The tail unit is connected to a ball connected to the inner leg of the handle. One end of the center rod includes a hole called a second hole and accommodates the shaft of the acceleration sensor. The other end at the position facing the part in which the second hole is located accommodates a bracket located in a panel of the vehicle door. The inner leg has a support surface connected to a ball installed in the tail unit of the lever at a longitudinal end.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a door handle assembly for a vehicle door having an acceleration sensor,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a door handle assembly for a vehicle door, and more particularly, to a door handle assembly for a vehicle door having an acceleration sensor for preventing unexpected opening of the door, Assembly.

Generally, the vehicle door has a door handle assembly adapted to be fixed to or released from the body of the vehicle.

Such a vehicle door must be firmly fixed to the vehicle so as to be closed at the time of an accidental collision or a sudden turn on the road, so that a safety accident can be prevented in advance.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0901416 (name: automotive door handle assembly), as known in the art, includes a handle grip which is connected to a handle bracket of a door through a hinge portion formed at an upper end thereof; An engaging portion protruding from the hinge portion to the inside of the door; A stopper which is connected to the handle bracket by a hinge pin at one end so as to prevent inertial rotation of the handle grip when the door is impacted and rotates about the hinge pin at the time of impact to block the engaging portion; And an elastic portion provided between the stopper and the handle bracket such that the stopper restores to the original position after stopping the latch portion.

Figure 1 illustrates one scenario in which side crashes in an accident cause opening of a closed door due to Newton's reaction force.

Similarly, Figure 2 shows another scenario where, during a rush on the road, the door of the vehicle is opened due to the centrifugal force acting from the door's own inertia, putting the passenger at risk of falling out of the vehicle.

Figure 3 further illustrates a combination of the above scenarios in which collisions caused by side collisions and hurricanes result in a highly counteracting force which is the worst case of the case.

Conventionally, various attempts have been made to prevent accidental release of a vehicle door, such as a sudden turn, side collision, or otherwise.

Meanwhile, in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0901416 (name: vehicle door handle assembly), as known in the art, a handle grip is connected to a handle bracket of a door through a hinge portion formed at an upper end thereof. An engaging portion protruding from the hinge portion to the inside of the door; A stopper which is connected to the handle bracket by a hinge pin at one end so as to prevent inertial rotation of the handle grip when the door is impacted and rotates about the hinge pin at the time of impact to block the engaging portion; And an elastic portion provided between the stopper and the handle bracket such that the stopper restores to the original position after stopping the latch portion.

However, such a structure of the door handle assembly for a vehicle is complicated, resulting in poor productivity and uneconomical problems.

Another attempt is to use a counterbalance mechanism that is assembled as part of a pre-calculated amount of the additional door handle assembly so that centripetal force prevents accidental opening of the door.

However, such a balancing mechanism in the door handle assembly is sometimes inefficient.

In addition, such a balancing mechanism is heavy and increases the weight of the vehicle, thereby deteriorating the efficiency of the vehicle.

In addition to the disadvantages described above, the balance weight mechanism is difficult to install in a vehicle.

In view of this, there is a need to have an efficient door locking mechanism that overcomes the above and other difficulties of the prior art and is cost effective and easy to install.

1, Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0901416

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and it is an object of the present invention to efficiently cope with a collision caused by an accident, a sudden turn, etc., and to perform an installation efficiently and conveniently And more particularly, to provide a door handle assembly for a vehicle door that is equipped with an acceleration sensor that can reduce manufacturing costs and realize economic benefits.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a door handle assembly for a vehicle door, the door handle assembly including an acceleration sensor for fixing or releasing a vehicle door to or from a body of the vehicle, the door handle assembly comprising: A lever disposed adjacent to the handle, an acceleration sensor operatively coupled to the lever and provided inside the vehicle door, and a lever provided on the handle, And a flat inner leg connected thereto; The acceleration sensor includes a body having a space therein, a shaft inserted and fixed to the body, a balance spring disposed at one end of the shaft, and a weight spring disposed at the other end of the shaft ; The lever includes a central rod formed in an L shape having a head and a tail and passing through a passage provided inside the vehicle door and formed at a portion where the head and tail are connected to each other; The tofu is provided with a hole called a " first hole " so as to receive and lock the latching rod of the locking mechanism to lock the vehicle door to the vehicle; Wherein said tail portion is provided with a ball engaging with an inner leg of said handle; One end of the center rod has a hole called a 'second hole' to receive the shaft of the acceleration sensor, and the other end of the center rod, which is opposed to the portion where the second hole is located, Wherein the bracket is rotatable in the bracket while receiving a bracket positioned on a panel of the door; The inner leg may have a support surface adapted to be engaged with a ball provided at a tail portion of the lever at an end thereof.

The door handle assembly of the vehicle door equipped with the acceleration sensor of the present invention as described above has an effect that the shaft locks the lever at the time of collision caused by an accident, a sudden turn, etc., and can cope efficiently.

Moreover, the structure is simple, the installation can be efficiently and conveniently performed, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the economical benefit can be realized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a scenario in which a side collision at the time of an accident of the vehicle causes one door to open resulting in the closing of the vehicle door due to Newton's reaction force;
Fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of another scenario in which, during a rush on the road, a vehicle door of a vehicle is opened due to centrifugal forces acting from its own inertia of the vehicle door, putting the passenger at risk of falling off the vehicle.
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram further illustrating a combination of the above scenarios in which a collision caused by side collision and sudden collision of a vehicle results in a highly counteracting force which is the worst case of the case.
4 is a schematic view showing a vehicle to which a door handle assembly of a vehicle door equipped with an acceleration sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
Fig. 5 is a schematic view showing an acceleration sensor constituting a door handle assembly of a vehicle door equipped with an acceleration sensor according to this embodiment; Fig.
6 is a schematic view showing an operating state of an acceleration sensor constituting a door handle assembly of a vehicle door equipped with an acceleration sensor according to the present embodiment in the case of an accidental shock or a sudden turn of a vehicle.
7 is a schematic view showing a lever constituting a door handle assembly of a vehicle door equipped with an acceleration sensor according to this embodiment;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a door handle assembly of a vehicle door with an acceleration sensor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Although the approaches described in this section are approaches that can be pursued, they are not necessarily preconceived or pursued approaches. Therefore, unless expressly stated otherwise, any of the approaches described in this section should not be presumed to empower the prior art as merely included in this section. Various features that may be used independently of each other or in any combination are described, respectively. However, the individual features can only deal with one of the aforementioned problems. Some of the problems discussed above will not be fully addressed by any of the features described herein.

4 to 7 illustrate a door handle assembly of a vehicle door having an acceleration sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle 400 includes a door handle assembly 410, And a door 406 provided with a door 410.

The door handle assembly 410 includes a handle 404 disposed on the outside of the vehicle door 406 and a lever 408 positioned adjacent thereto and a lever 408 operably coupled to the lever 408 and operatively coupled to the door 406 And an acceleration sensor 402 provided inside the acceleration sensor 402.

Figure 4 illustrates the impact force (shown by arrows) on various components of the door handle assembly 410 including the handle 404 and the acceleration sensor 402 and the impact force FIG.

The acceleration sensor 402 includes components similar to the shaft 506, the balance spring 504, and the weight spring 508.

And a body 502 having a space for sequentially accommodating the shaft 506, the balance spring 504, and the weight spring 508 therein.
That is, the acceleration sensor 402 includes a body 502 having an internal space, a shaft 506 inserted and fixed to the body 502, and a balance spring (not shown) disposed at one end of the shaft 506 And a weight spring 508 disposed at the other end of the shaft 506.

On the other hand, the body 502 is preferably covered with a plastic cover.

In addition, the shaft 506 may have a variable thickness along its length.

Preferably, the shaft 506 is made thinner toward the front end and thicker toward the rear end.

The body 502 preferably has a cubic shape and is preferably opened from one side to receive the shaft 506, the balance spring 504, and the weight spring 508.

The balance spring 504, the shaft 506 and the weight spring 508 are inserted in the body 502 in the order specified so that the acceleration sensor is functionally operated in the event of an unexpected collision or sudden collision.

The handle 404 also has a flat inner leg 412 connected to the lever 408 to release the vehicle door 406.

The inner leg 412 has a support surface adapted to engage with a ball 606 provided at a tail 710 of the lever 408 at its end.

As shown in FIG. 7, the lever 408 preferably includes an L-shaped structure having a head 704 and a tail portion 710.

The head 704 is preferably provided with a hole called a 'first hole' 706 to engage with the latching rod of the unillustrated locking mechanism for locking the vehicle door 406 to the vehicle Do.

The tread portion 710 preferably supports a structure such as a ball 606 that engages with the inner leg 412 of the handle 404.

The most significant feature of the 'L' shaped lever 408 is that the center rod 702 axially coupled while passing through the passage provided inside the vehicle door 406 is positioned between the head 704 and the tail portion 704 are formed integrally with each other.

One end of the middle rod 702 is provided with a hole called a 'second hole' 608 to receive the shaft 506 of the acceleration sensor 402, The other end 712 of the opposite position with respect to the portion where the two holes 608 are positioned is axially coupled to receive a bracket (not shown) disposed on the vehicle door 406 on the inner side of the door handle assembly, Is preferably combined.

The other end 712 of the central rod 702 preferably has a spring to engage the bracket associated with the door panel.

Hereinafter, the effect of the door handle assembly of the vehicle door with the acceleration sensor according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

4 to 7, an operation mechanism of the acceleration sensor 402 constituting the door handle assembly of the vehicle door equipped with the acceleration sensor according to the present embodiment will be described as follows.

Fig. 6 shows an operating mechanism of the acceleration sensor 402 in the case of an impact shock, a sudden turn, and the like.

6 further illustrates the orientation of the handle 404 that is operatively coupled to the lever 408 and the acceleration sensor 402.

One line in FIG. 6 shows the position of the handle 404 in a side impact (due to an accident or spiral), and the other line shows the position of the handle 404 relative to the panel 604 of the door 406, Indicates a normal position.

If there is no collision and / or centrifugal force, the acceleration sensor 403 will not operate and the door handle assembly 410 will operate normally upon locking and unlocking.

In one example, the acceleration sensor 402 operates at a value that is greater than a critical acceleration value, e.g., 1 G, for the vehicle, and below the critical acceleration value for the vehicle, the acceleration sensor is not operational, It provides normal functionality to the handle assembly.

In the event of a collision, the handle 404 tends to pull outward to release the door 406.

When the force or acceleration resulting from the collision exceeds a threshold value, the ball 606 present in the tail 710 of the lever 408 is pulled outwardly with the inner leg 412 supporting it The door handle assembly 410 is constructed.

As a result, this causes the lever 408 to rotate so that the second hole 608 in its head 704 is provided in front of the acceleration sensor 402.

Due to the impact or centrifugal force, the acceleration sensor 402 is actuated through two springs associated with the acceleration sensor 402 to obtain an impact reaction force in the opposite direction of the impact force.

In this process, the shaft 506 protrudes from the body 502 of the acceleration sensor 402 and engages with the second hole 608 of the lever 408.

As a result of such a coupling, the door 406 is kept in the locked state even when the impact force reaches the threshold value.

Thereafter, when the impact time has elapsed, the shaft 506 and the two springs recover their original position, thereby disengaging the shaft 506 from the head of the lever 408, which eventually rotates back to its original position And the door handle assembly 410 operates normally.

Meanwhile, in the acceleration sensor 402, the shaft 506 is prevented from moving at less than an acceleration of 1 G due to the elasticity of the weight spring 508; It is preferable to move in the lever direction at an acceleration of 1G or more at an acceleration of 1G or more to be inserted into the second hole 608 to prevent the handle 404 from being opened uninterruptedly.

It is most preferable that the acceleration is restored to its original state in a natural safety state of 1G or less in which the external force is removed, so that passengers aboard the vehicle can safely escape.

In view of the above description, the present invention may be helpful in providing a secure mechanism in non-side collisions caused by side collisions or other factors as well as collisions from sudden collisions.

While the invention has been described in detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments and examples thereof, other embodiments and equivalent examples are possible. Although the various features and advantages of the present invention are set forth in the foregoing description, along with functional and procedural details, the present disclosure is by way of example only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, Changes may be made in detail within the principles of the invention. Accordingly, various modifications of the presently disclosed systems and processes can be made without departing from the intended scope and spirit of the present invention. Thus, in one embodiment, such modifications of the presently disclosed systems and methods are within the scope of the present invention.

400: vehicle 402: acceleration sensor
404: handle 406: vehicle door
408: Lever 410: Door handle assembly
412: inner bridge
502: Body 504: Balance spring
506: shaft 508: weight spring
604: Panel 606: Ball
608: Second hole
702: Central load 704: Tofu
706: first hole 710:
712: the other end of the center rod

Claims (2)

1. A door handle assembly for a vehicle door having an acceleration sensor adapted to fix or release a vehicle door to a vehicle body, the door handle assembly comprising:
A lever disposed adjacent to the handle, an acceleration sensor operatively coupled to the lever and provided inside the vehicle door, and a lever provided on the handle, And a flat inner leg connected thereto;
In the above acceleration sensor,
A balance spring disposed at one end of the shaft and a weight spring disposed at the other end of the shaft;
In the above-described lever,
And a central rod formed in an L shape having a head portion and a tail portion and passing through a passage provided inside the vehicle door and formed at a portion where the head portion and the tail portion are connected;
The above-
A hole called " first hole " is provided to receive and lock the latch rod of the lock mechanism, which is adapted to lock the vehicle door to the vehicle;
The above-
A ball engaging with an inner leg of the handle is provided;
One end of the central rod is connected to the first-
A hole called a 'second hole' to receive the shaft of the acceleration sensor;
The other end of the center rod, which is opposed to the portion where the second hole is located,
A bracket positioned on a panel of the vehicle door;
The above-
And a support surface adapted to be engaged with a ball provided at a tail portion of the lever is formed at an end of the door handle assembly.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:
In the acceleration sensor described above,
The weight spring is prevented from moving at an acceleration of less than 1 G due to elasticity;
The lever is moved in the lever direction at an acceleration of 1G or more to be inserted into the second hole to prevent the handle from being opened uninterruptedly;
Wherein the acceleration sensor is restored to its original state in a natural safety state of less than 1G in which the acceleration is removed, so that passengers aboard the vehicle can safely escape the door handle assembly of the vehicle door equipped with the acceleration sensor.

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