WO2024056122A1

WO2024056122A1 - Actuating device for motor vehicle applications

Info

Publication number: WO2024056122A1
Application number: PCT/DE2023/100621
Authority: WO
Inventors: Peter Szegeny; Holger Schiffer; Michael Scholz; Ömer INAN
Original assignee: Kiekert Aktiengesellschaft
Priority date: 2022-09-13
Filing date: 2023-08-29
Publication date: 2024-03-21
Also published as: DE102022123249A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an actuating device for motor vehicle applications, which is equipped with an electromotive drive (1, 2, 3) for acting on an actuating element (8). The electromotive drive (1, 2, 3) has at least one electric motor (1) and a downstream gear mechanism (2, 3) with at least two gears (2, 3) which are in engagement with each other. The gears are equipped with rows of teeth (4, 5) and are rotatable about a respective axis (6, 7). According to the invention, the rows of teeth (4, 5) define a variable transmission ratio along an actuating path (S) of the actuating element (8).

Description

Motor vehicle technical adjusting device

The invention relates to a motor vehicle technical actuating device, with an electric motor drive for acting on an actuating element, the electromotive drive having an electric motor and a downstream transmission with at least two rows of teeth in engagement with one another and each of which is rotatable about an axis of rotation.

Motor vehicle technical adjusting devices are used in a variety of ways in and on a motor vehicle. Examples of this are window lifters, sunroof actuations, seat adjustments, mirror actuations, headlight adjustments but also setting devices for motor vehicle doors, adjusting devices inside or outside of motor vehicle locks, etc. Due to the specific purpose and area of application, rapidly rotating electric motors are often used at this point, which are typically with Low-voltage DC voltage of 12 V, 24 V or 48 V can be operated. With the help of these high-speed electric motors, a reduction is usually achieved via a downstream gearbox and the corresponding actuating element is moved. The movement of the actuating element can generally be a linear movement or a pivoting movement.

In the prior art according to DE 10 2020 112 946 A1, an electric motor opening drive is already described, with the help of which a pawl can be lifted out as part of a locking mechanism consisting of a rotary latch and pawl. The rotary latch then opens with spring support and releases an associated locking bolt. For this purpose, the electric motor drive works on the pawl in question via an output pulley and a cam on it.

The known procedure has generally proven successful because by acting on the pawl using the cam, a practically arbitrary translation or reduction of the rotary movement of the electric motor is possible can be brought about. In fact, in this context, a large torque requirement is usually observed at the beginning of the pawl actuation, whereas as the pressure on the pawl increases up to the overstroke range, the torque requirement decreases and is small at the end. The state of the art takes this into account by initially having a large cam ratio and then decreasing cam ratio along the travel of the adjusting element or the pawl.

Such electromotive opening drives for the electromotive opening of motor vehicle locks are used in practice in a variety of ways and in large numbers. This makes opening the lock easier and more convenient for users. Acoustic advantages are also observed compared to purely manual opening. However, the cam actuation described is associated with relatively poor efficiency, which typically amounts to a maximum of 80%. This means that of the electrical power available on the output side of the electric motor, a maximum of 80% is available on the output side to act on the actuating element or the pawl in the example case.

For this reason, generic motor vehicle technical adjusting devices, as described for example in DE 10 2019 115 304 A1, work with the two rows of teeth in engagement with one another and associated gears that can each be rotated about an axis. In fact, such meshing gears are characterized by higher efficiency compared to the previously described “cam gear”. This can be values of up to 95%, so that gears with meshing gears are generally superior to known cam gears in terms of efficiency. The higher the efficiency, the smaller the electric motor can be designed with practically the same output power on the actuator. This saves costs and weight.

However, such gear transmissions do not allow different translations or reductions on the output side. This means that using such gears with gears can practically meet the specific requirements of an electric motor opening drive in conjunction with a motor vehicle lock not taken into account, namely being able to provide a high torque at the beginning of the pawl actuation and then decreasing.

The further state of the art according to DE 100 33 649 A1 is generally about drives and, among other things, spindle gears, which can again rely on an electric motor as a rotary drive. With the help of such linear drives or spindle gears, the previously described window lifters or sunroofs can be operated, among other things. A possible transmission in this context is, among other things, a so-called pulley transmission with a variably adjustable ratio. However, such pulley drives with variable translation are unsuitable for the applications in question here in and in connection with motor vehicle doors, for example as a setting device according to the prior art according to DE 102019 115304 A1 or as an opening drive according to DE 102020 112 946 A1. This can be attributed to the fact that such pulley transmissions with variably adjustable gear ratios have a sprawling design and therefore do not meet the general requirements for a compact and lightweight design. The invention as a whole aims to provide a remedy here.

The invention is based on the technical problem of further developing such a motor vehicle technical actuating device in such a way that, taking into account a compact structure with low weight and high efficiency, it is possible to vary the torque available on the output side.

To solve this technical problem, a generic motor vehicle technical adjusting device within the scope of the invention is characterized in that the rows of teeth of the meshing gears define a variable translation along an adjusting path of the adjusting element.

As part of an advantageous embodiment, the procedure is such that the rows of teeth in engagement are each designed in an arc shape as rows of teeth. In general, at least one tooth row arc of one gear describes a rolling curve along the travel of the Actuating element or radius that can be changed along the pivoting movement of the gear compared to the axis of rotation. This means that the pitch curve for the other gear defined by the relevant tooth row arc of one gear is equipped with a changeable radius compared to the axis of rotation. For example, the radius can increase uniformly or be designed to decrease compared to the axis of rotation.

Particularly preferred in this context is an embodiment in which both rows of teeth of the meshing gears each define a rolling curve with a radius that can be changed along the adjustment path of the adjusting element or along the pivoting movement of the gear.

An embodiment has proven to be particularly favorable in which the respective gear is designed to be spiral-shaped compared to its axis of rotation. In this context, the spiral shape of the gear in question arises from the fact that the outer circumference of the gear and consequently the tooth row arc realized at this point has a uniformly increasing increase in radius compared to the axis of rotation. In addition, in this context, the procedure can be such that both gears are designed in a spiral shape with the same increase in radius. This is usually done further in such a way that the two spiral-shaped gears, each with complementary radii, mesh with one another.

This means that one spiral gear, for example, engages with its smallest radius of the outer circumferential spiral in the complementary radius of the other gear with its largest radius. As a result, the two gears are held in mutual engagement during their common rolling movement with a fixed axis of rotation and the spirals roll against each other in a complementary manner. In this way, one of the two gears can be used as the input gear of the transmission and the other gear as the output gear.

If the output-side spiral gear, for example, works with its largest radius on the actuating element that is directly or indirectly acted upon, then a high torque is available at this point at the beginning of its actuating path, which can be used, for example can in order to be able to apply an initial large opening torque to a pawl as an actuating element. Since the complementary radii of the two spiral-shaped gears mesh with each other, the torque available for acting on the pawl in the example case decreases over the travel of the actuating element or the pawl and thus the motor vehicle technical actuating device according to the invention takes exactly into account the specific requirements.

The fact that the gears are usually made of plastic also contributes to this. Here, for example, production as a plastic injection molded part has proven to be particularly favorable. The gears can mesh with each other with straight teeth. Of course, interlocking helical gears or other gears such as involute gears are also conceivable in this context. All of this can be easily realized and implemented because the gears are injection-molded plastic parts and can be precisely adapted to the specific intended use.

The actuating element can advantageously be provided on or in a motor vehicle door. As an alternative to the previously described actuating element in the form of a pawl, it is fundamentally conceivable that the actuating element is a setting element with the help of which an associated motor vehicle door can be set up, as is the case in the generic prior art according to DE 10 2019 115 304 A1 is described in principle.

As an alternative, the motor vehicle technical adjusting device can also represent a component of a motor vehicle lock, as described in independent claim 10. This is aimed at a motor vehicle lock and in particular a motor vehicle door lock, which is equipped with a locking mechanism consisting essentially of a rotary latch and a pawl as well as an additional operating lever chain for the locking mechanism. The adjusting device according to the invention can now work on the locking mechanism and/or the operating lever chain for the locking mechanism. In the first case, it may be the already mentioned electromotive opening drive for the pawl. In the latter variant, the adjusting device according to the invention works on the actuating lever chain and can For example, these can be transferred to different functional positions such as “locked”, “theft-proof”, etc., to name just a few.

As a result, a motor vehicle technical actuating device is described which is designed to be small and weight-optimized and at the same time provides a high level of mechanical efficiency. All of this is paired with the further possibility according to the invention of being able to apply different torques on the output side to the actuating element acted upon using the adjusting device. In this way, the invention takes specific requirements into account in such a way that, for example, with a pawl as an actuating element, a high torque is required at the beginning of the actuating movement or at the beginning of the actuating path of the actuating element, which can be reduced along the actuating path.

Comparable requirements arise for a setting device for a motor vehicle door. In this case too, a high torque will be required at the beginning of the travel of the required installation element, for example in order to release the motor vehicle door from a circumferential door rubber seal. As in the case of the pawl, the required torque can then drop or be reduced over the travel distance.

The core of the invention provides this variable torque curve in that the two meshing gears or at least one of these gears is spiral-shaped, so that a rolling curve for the other gear with a radius that can be changed along the rotational movement of the gear or along the adjustment path is available. The torque available on the output side and for moving the actuating element can then be varied via the variable radius. This is where the main advantages can be seen.

The invention is explained in more detail below using a drawing that only shows an exemplary embodiment; Show it:

Figures 1 and 2 show a motor vehicle technical adjusting device reduced to the essential elements in two different design variants. A motor vehicle technical adjusting device is shown in the figures. This basically has an electric motor drive 1, 2, 3. The electric motor drive 1, 2, 3 is equipped with an electric motor 1 and a downstream gearbox 2, 3. The downstream transmission 2, 3 has at least two gears 2, 3 that mesh with one another.

1, the gears 2, 3 can also only be designed as gear segments, as is the case for the gear 3. Either way, the two gears 2, 3 that are in engagement with one another have corresponding rows of teeth 4, 5, which are also in engagement with one another. For this purpose, the two gears 2, 3 can be rotated about respective axes or axes of rotation 6, 7 that are stationary according to the exemplary embodiment. A rotation of the gear 2 about its axis 6 therefore corresponds to the circumferential row of teeth 4 of the gear 2 being in engagement with the row of teeth 5 of the adjacent gear 3, which consequently rotates about its axis 7.

In the context of the exemplary embodiment, the motor vehicle technical actuating device with the electric motor drive 1, 2, 3 described is an opening drive 1, 2, 3 for a locking device 8, 9 as part of a motor vehicle lock and in particular a motor vehicle door lock. In fact, a pivoting movement of the gear 3 of the gear 2, 3 on the output side in this case in the example according to FIG Rotary latch 9 is lifted. As a result of this, the locking mechanism 8, 9 undergoes a motor opening because the pawl 8, which was previously in locking engagement with the rotary latch 9, has been lifted from its engagement, so that the rotary latch 9 can open with spring support and release a locking bolt, not shown. The associated motor vehicle door can be opened.

Instead of the electromotive opening drive shown in FIG. 1 in a motor vehicle lock, the motor vehicle technical actuating device according to the invention can also be used to set up a motor vehicle door, not shown, as has already been explained previously. Also Other areas of application and uses described in detail in the introduction to the description are conceivable.

It can be seen when comparing Figures 1 and 2 that the meshing rows of teeth 4, 5 of the associated gears 2, 3 are each arcuate and designed as rows of teeth 4, 5. The respective tooth row arch 4, 5 describes a rolling curve indicated in the figures, which describes a variable radius Ri, R2 in comparison to the associated axis of rotation 6, 7 along an adjustment path S of the adjusting element 8 or along the pivoting movement of the associated gear 2, 3. In the exemplary embodiment, Ri denotes the smallest radius of the relevant rolling curve or the tooth row arch 4, 5 in this context, whereas R2 represents the largest radius in comparison to the associated axis 6, 7.

It can be seen that in the exemplary embodiment according to FIG Adjusting path S is located and consequently a high torque on the output side is required to act on the pawl 8 there at the beginning of the actuating movement in order to be able to release the pawl 8 from its latching engagement with the rotary latch 9.

In this case, the input-side gear 2 with the associated tooth row arch 5 is in engagement with the tooth row arch 5 of the output-side gear 3, taking into account the smallest radius Ri. Of course, this only applies as an example and is not to be understood as restrictive overall. In any case, as in the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 2, this ensures that, while maintaining the stationary axes or axes of rotation 6, 7, the relevant tooth row arches 4, 5 are in engagement when the associated gear 2, 3 pivots about its axis 6, 7 remain.

This means that the respective gear 2, 3 is generally designed to be spiral-shaped compared to its axis of rotation 6, 7. In addition, the design is usually made in such a way that the two gears 2, 3 each correspond to each other. are equipped with the right radius increase. This increase in radius manifests itself in the fact that the smallest radius Ri and the largest radius R2 according to the exemplary embodiment for the associated gears 2, 3 are designed to be the same, which only applies as an example and is by no means mandatory. In addition, a uniform increase in radius is observed along the tooth row arch 4, 5, starting with Ri and ending at R2.

Based on the basic example according to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the two spiral-shaped gears 2, 3 mesh with one another, each with complementary radii Ri, R2. That is, the largest radius R2 of the tooth row arch 5 on the output-side gear 3 is in engagement with the smallest radius R1 of the input-side gear 2 with the associated tooth row arch 4. The same also applies if the two gears 2, 3 roll against each other, i.e . H. along their respective rolling curve or along the associated tooth row arches 4, 5.

The two gears 2, 3 are typically made of plastic. Advantageously, these are plastic injection-molded parts, so that the realization of the spiral-shaped gears 2, 3 does not pose a problem in terms of manufacturing technology. In addition, both gears 2, 3 are light in weight.

Reference symbol list

1, 2, 3 electric motor drive

1, 2, 3 opening drive 1 electric motor

2 input side gear

3 output side gear

4, 5 rows of teeth

6, 7 axes of rotation 8, 9 locks

8 pawl, control element

9 rotary trap

Ri smallest radius

R2 largest radius S of travel

Claims

Patent claims

1. Motor vehicle technical actuating device, with an electric motor drive (1, 2, 3) for acting on an actuating element (8), the electromotive drive (1, 2, 3) having an electric motor (1) and a downstream transmission (2, 3 ) with at least two rows of teeth (4, 5) in engagement with one another and each having gears (2, 3) rotatable about an axis of rotation (6, 7), characterized in that the rows of teeth (4, 5) move along an adjustment path (S ) of the control element (8) define a variable translation.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the meshing rows of teeth (4, 5) are each arcuately designed as rows of teeth (4, 5).

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one row of teeth (4, 5) of one gear (2, 3) has a rolling curve with a radius (Ri, R2) that can be changed along the adjusting path (S) of the adjusting element (8). in comparison to the associated axis of rotation (6, 7).

4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that both tooth row arches (4, 5) of the meshing gears (2, 3) each define a rolling curve with a radius (Ri, R2) that can be changed along the adjusting path (S) of the adjusting element (8). .

5. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the respective gear (2, 3) is spiral-shaped compared to its axis of rotation (6, 7).

6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that both gears (2, 3) are designed spirally with a corresponding increase in radius (Ri, R2).

7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the two spiral-shaped gears (2, 3) mesh with each other with complementary radii (Ri, 2).

8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the two gears (2, 3) are each made of plastic, for example as plastic injection molded parts.

9. Device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the actuating element (8) is provided on or in a motor vehicle door.

10. Motor vehicle lock, with a locking mechanism (8, 9) consisting essentially of a rotary latch (9) and a pawl (8), and with an actuating lever chain for the locking mechanism (8, 9), characterized by an adjusting device according to one of claims 1 to 9 for the locking mechanism (8, 9) and/or the operating lever chain.