WO2014204415A2

WO2014204415A2 - Electromechanical locking mechanism for vehicles

Info

Publication number: WO2014204415A2
Application number: PCT/TR2014/000161
Authority: WO
Inventors: Okan ANIK
Original assignee: Arikan Kriko Ve Makine Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2013-05-10
Filing date: 2014-05-12
Publication date: 2014-12-24
Also published as: WO2014204415A3

Abstract

The invention relates to vehicle door locking mechanism (M), comprising a hook (110) having lock housing (114), a lock striker (130) locked or unlocked in said lock housing (114), a lock arm (70) connected with said hook (110), a motor (80) driving said lock arm (70) by means of the pinion (81), a rotary joint (83) driven by said motor (80), and a lock arm (70) having motion slot (72) where said rotary joint (83) will be positioned and which enables the rotary joint to move freely therein.

Description

DESCRIPTION

ELECTROMECHANICAL LOCKING MECHANISM FOR VEHICLES

TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to a locking mechanism functioning as a lock, opening and closing any type of vehicle door.

The invention especially relates to a locking mechanism for vehicles which operates electromechanically and can be used manually when desired.

STATE OF THE ART

Locking mechanisms for closing the vehicle doors and then locking them are used.

The locking mechanisms of the prior art consist of numerous and complex components. Thus, the costs are high and the mounting processes thereof are difficult. Difficulty in the mounting processes results in faulty workmanship and risk of failure in the mechanism.

As the components constituting the mechanisms in the state of the art are made of sheet metal material, noise problem occurs and operating in precise tolerances is not allowed. In addition, process failures are much more encountered in the sheet metal production.

That the locking mechanism of the state of the art comprises numerous components affects the production time negatively.

In the state of the art, due to the operating principle of the rotary joint the system is required to operate manually.

As a result of the searches in the literature, several embodiments with respect to said pipe clamps are encountered. One of them is the utility model with the application no. TR201209445 and titled "A Locking Mechanism for Vehicle Doors". The following is disclosed in the abstract of the invention with; "The invention is the vehicle door locking mechanism comprising a hook having lock housing and a lock striker which is locked or unlocked in the lock housing of the hook, characterized in comprising a motor, a pinion transmitting the rotary motion from the motor, a rotary joint driven by means of said pinion, and a lock arm connected with said rotary joint."

The shortcomings of the aforementioned utility model are as follows; the motor part starting the mechanism is directly mounted on the floor panel. A minor mistake that can occur in the production processes of the floor panel prevents the motor to be positioned properly. So, the mechanism is not started. Thus, the system does not operate. In addition, the lock arm and the rotary joints are interconnected by means of socket channel. This situation obstructs the operation of the system and prevents the system to be operated by being driven externally by hand.

Another example with respect to said embodiment is the utility model with the application no. TR201205724 and titled "Vehicle Door Locking Mechanism". The following is disclosed in the abstract of the invention; "The invention relates to door locking mechanism in vehicles, characterized in comprising a cartridge which provides the motion of the locking bar from outside the vehicle and thus the mechanism to be set to the open-close position, a body where this cartridge is embedded, a rotator moving simultaneously with the cartridge, and a plastic rotator moving simultaneously with said rotator and enabling the mechanism to be set to the open-close position from inside the vehicle manually."

To conclude, improvements are being made in the vehicle door locking mechanisms in parallel to the developing technology; therefore, new embodiments, which will eliminate the aforementioned disadvantages and offer solution to the existing systems, are needed.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to locking mechanisms meeting the aforementioned requirements, eliminating all the disadvantages and offering some additional advantages.

The object of the invention is to provide bearing of the motor, socket and switch in the desired position precisely thanks to the developed grouping plastic, and thus to facilitate the mounting processes.

Another object of the invention is to provide operating in narrower and more precise tolerances by producing the components from plastic, and thus to minimize the process failure rates.

Another object of the invention, thanks to the absorbing rubber added to the mechanism, is to absorb the load by the absorbing rubber when the lock striker contacts the mechanism with large loads during closing.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide the operation of the mechanism, without interfering with the rotary joint, by enabling the rotary joint to move freely in the space of the guide pin disposed in the lock arm, and by driving only the lock arm when operating manually.

In order to achieve the objects above; vehicle door locking mechanism, comprising a hook having lock housing, a lock striker which is locked or unlocked in said lock housing of the hook, a lock arm connected with said hook, a motor driving said lock arm by means of the pinion, a rotary joint which is driven by said motor, and a lock arm where said rotary joint will be positioned and which comprises motion slot enabling said rotary joint to move freely therein, is developed.

The structural and characteristic features and all the advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood thanks to the figures below and the detailed description written with reference to those figures. Therefore, the evaluation needs to be done by taking said figures and the detailed description into consideration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FACILITATING UNDERSTANDING OF THE INVENTION Figure - 1 illustrates the perspective view of the vehicle locking mechanism according to the invention when mounted.

Figure - 2 illustrates the upper perspective view of the vehicle locking mechanism according to the invention without cover.

Figure - 3 illustrates the perspective view of the state between the hook, motor and switch.. Figure - 4 is the perspective view of the positioning of the lock arm, hook, motor, and the brace in the mechanism.

Figure - 5 illustrates the two-dimensional upper view of the brace when the lock is opened manually.

Figure - 6 illustrates the principle of the motor driving the lock arm. Figure - 7 illustrates the perspective view of the brace on the lock striker when locked. Figure - 8 illustrates the two-dimensional view of the hook arm and the hook tip points. Figure - 9 illustrates the two-dimensional upper view of the grouping plastic. Figure - 10 illustrates the two-dimensional lower view of the grouping plastic. Figure - 11 illustrates the perspective view of the motor shaft positioned on the rotary joint. REFERENCE NUMBERS

10. Floor panel

20. Cover

30. Socket

40. Pressure plate

50. Grouping element

51. Joint bearing

52. Socket bearing

53. Motor bearing

54. Switch bearing

55. Lock arm bearing 60. Absorbing element

70. Lock arm

71. Connection point

72. Motion slot

80. Motor

81. Pinion

82. Compression spring

83. Rotary joint

84. Motor shaft

85. Guide pin

90. Extension spring 100. Stopping element

110. Hook

111. Connection point 112. Hook arm

113. Hook tip points

114. Lock housing 120. Switch 121. Switch arm

130. Lock striker

131. Lock striker arm 140. Pin

A. Force application direction B. Force application direction Y. Rotary joint motion direction Y¹. Rotary joint motion direction D. Lock arm motion direction D^!. Lock arm motion direction M. Locking mechanism

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EXAMPLE OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to vehicle door locking mechanism (M), comprising a hook (110) having lock housing ( 14) and a lock striker (130) locked or unlocked in the lock housing ( 14) of the hook; a lock arm (70) releasing said hook (110); a motor (80) driving said lock arm (70) by means of the pinion (81) and a rotary joint (83) driven by said motor (80), characterized in comprising a motion slot (72) where the rotary joint (83) will be positioned and which enables said rotary joint to move freely in said lock arm (70).

Socket (30) enabling the connection of the vehicle with the ECU (engine control unit) system is provided in said mechanism (M). The system is driven by means of the motor (80). The motor shaft (84) connected to the motor (80) is connected with the pinion (81). The pinion (81) transmits the motion from the motor shaft (84) to the rotary joint (83). Compression spring (82) returning the rotary joint (83) to the starting position is provided on the pinion (81). Guide pin (85) in the rotary joint is connected with the lock arm (70).

Said lock arm (70) is connected with the hook ( 0) by means of the extension spring (90). In the mechanism, locking is performed by means of the lock striker arm (131 ) in the lock striker (130). Here, the hook (1 10) holds the lock striker arm (131 ), thereby enabling the lock to open and close. Switch (121 ) is positioned between the hook (1 10) and the motor (80). The motor stops and runs with the contact of the hook arm (1 12) and the switch arm (121 ) to each other. Stopping rubber enabling said hook ( 10) to stop at the desired position is provided. Pin (140) enabling said lock arm (70) and hook (1 10) to be fixed on the body and pressure plate (40) for bearing the pins are provided.

Grouping element (50) on which said motor (80), switch (120), rotary joint (83), compression spring (82) and lock arm (70) are connected, is provided. The entire mechanism is protected against external effects with the cover (20). Moreover, the cover (20) provides bearing of the grouping element (50) thanks to the channels thereon. Finally, the mounting is completed by tightly fitting the absorbing element (60) which absorbs the force coming from the lock striker arm (131 ) on the cover (20). Holding all the components mentioned above together is achieved by means of the floor panel (10). Figure - 1 illustrates the perspective view of the locking mechanism (M) according to the invention when mounted.

Operating principle, Figure 6 illustrates the principle of the motor (80) driving the lock arm (70).

The mechanism is an electromechanical locking system. When the user presses on the door opening arm, the ECU system is activated and sends signal to the motor (80) on the mechanism (M). Then, the motor shaft (84) starts to move with this signal. The pinion (81 ) connected with the motor shaft (84) also moves rotationally with the motor shaft (84). The rotary joint (83) operating with pinion (81 ) in a screw-nut relationship, positioned between the lock arm (70) and grouping element (50) wherein rotary joint (83) makes linear displacement motion in the axial direction of Y- Y'. The rotary joint (83) also transmits this motion to the lock arm (70) as rotational motion. The lock arm (70) is beared with the pin (140), as a result of its counterclockwise rotational motion in the direction of D-D', its contact with the hook (1 10) is cut, the hook (1 10) is released with the tension effect of the extension spring (90), and thus the mechanism is opened. Transmitting the linear motion from the rotary joint (83) to the lock arm (70) rotationally is performed by bearing the guide pin (85) connected to the motion slot (72) disposed in the end of the lock arm (70) with the rotary joint (83). Figure 1 1 illustrates the perspective view of the rotary joint (83). The vehicle door is opened when the lock striker arm (131 ) in the lock striker (130) is released from the lock housing (114). Figure 7 illustrates the perspective view of the lock striker (130). Again, with the effect of the extension spring (90), the lock arm (70) moves in clockwise direction. The extension spring (90) is fixed to the lock arm (70) and the hook (110) from the connection points (71 , 1 11). The compression spring (82) returns the rotary joint (83) to the starting position by facilitating the motion thereof. During the motion of the hook (1 0), the hook arm (112) contacts with the switch arm (121). Thanks to the shape of the hook arm (1 12), the hook arm tip points (113) keep the switch arm (121) in pressed position during the rotational motion of the hook (1 10). Figure 8 illustrates the two-dimensional view of the hook arm (1 12) and the hook tip points (1 13). The reason for why the switch (120) is used within the mechanism is to prevent the system to operate continuously when the user presses on the lock opening button of the vehicle and continues to press thereon. Figure 3 illustrates the perspective view of the state between the hook (110), motor (80) and switch (120). While the lock arm (70) starts to move and releases the hook (110), that the hook (1 10) is released is the moment when the motor (80) is desired to be stopped. The component limiting the motion of the hook (110) is the stopping element (100). The stopping element (100) is positioned by being mounted to the arms on the floor panel (10) and plastic cover (20). The stopping element (100) also absorbs the impact of the hook (1 10) and prevents the formation of noise. Figure 4 is the perspective view of the positioning of the lock arm (70), hook (1 10), motor (80), and the brace (130) in the mechanism.

The grouping element (50) is the component integrating the mechanism by being mounted between the floor panel (10) and the plastic cover (20). The grouping element (50) enables the bearing of switch (120), socket (30) and lock arm (70) thereon. A joint bearing (51) for bearing the pinion (81 ) and rotary joint (83) mounted on the motor shaft (84) and the compression spring (82); a socket bearing (52) for bearing the socket (30), a motor bearing (53) for bearing the motor (80); a switch bearing (54) for bearing the switch (120); a lock arm bearing (55) for bearing the lock arm (70) are provided. Figures 9 and 10 illustrate the two-dimensional lower and upper profile views of the grouping element (50).

Figure 5 illustrates the two-dimensional upper view of the brace (70) when the lock is opened manually. Thanks to the motion slot (72) of the lock arm (70), if the mechanism is desired to be operated manually when the ECU system is deactivated, the lock arm (70) is provided with full freedom and thus, the lock is opened easily. When force is applied from region (A), the lock arm (70) moves in counterclockwise direction as shown in region (B). Meanwhile, the rotary joint (83) is stationary and fixed. The motion slot (72), thanks to its design, operates independently of the rotary joint (83), and the lock is opened by operating the mechanism by hand.

Claims

1. Vehicle door locking mechanism (M), comprising a hook (110) having lock housing (114), a lock striker (130) locked or unlocked in said lock housing (114), a lock arm (70) connected with said hook (1 0), a motor (80) driving said lock arm (70) by means of the pinion (81) and a rotary joint (83) driven by said motor (80), characterized in comprising a motion slot (72) where the rotary joint (83) will be positioned and which enables said rotary joint (83) to move freely in said lock arm (70).

2. The vehicle locking mechanism (M) according to Claim 1 , characterized in comprising an absorbing element (60) which absorbs the force coming from said lock striker (130).

3. The vehicle locking mechanism (M) according to Claim 1 , characterized in comprising a grouping element (50) on which the motor (80), switch (120), rotary joint (83), compression spring (82) and lock arm (70) are positioned.

4. The vehicle locking mechanism (M) according to Claims 1 and 3, characterized in comprising a joint bearing (51) where pinion (81), rotary joint (83) and compression spring (82) will be positioned on said grouping element (50).

5. The vehicle locking mechanism (M) according to Claims 1 and 3, characterized in comprising a socket bearing (52) where the socket (30) will be positioned on said grouping element (50).

6. The vehicle locking mechanism (M) according to Claims 1 and 3, characterized in comprising a motor bearing (53) where the motor (80) will be positioned on said grouping element (50).

7. The vehicle locking mechanism (M) according to Claims 1 and 3, characterized in comprising a switch bearing (54) where the switch (120) will be positioned on said grouping element (50).

8. The vehicle locking mechanism (M) according to Claims 1 and 3, characterized in comprising a lock arm bearing (55) where the lock arm (70) will be positioned on said grouping element (50).