Locking device for opening a motor vehicle

Abstract

Such a locking device with a locking cover that can be moved between a closing position and an opening position by means of a guide device, wherein the guide device is arranged on the inside of the vehicle relative to the opening in order to move the locking cover from the closing position inwards to the opening position, and wherein the guide device has a carrier slide arrangement to which the locking cover is assigned and at least one vehicle-mounted guide rail along which the carrier slide arrangement can be moved, is known. According to the invention, the carrier slide arrangement comprises an auxiliary slide and a control slide, wherein the closing cover is movably mounted on the auxiliary slide at least largely orthogonally to a longitudinal displacement direction of the auxiliary slide, the control slide is coupled to the auxiliary slide for common movability and is additionally movable relative to the auxiliary slide in the direction of travel, and the control slide is connected to the closing cover in a motion-transmitting manner in order to control a transverse displacement of the closing cover relative to the auxiliary slide. Use for passenger cars

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a locking device for opening a motor vehicle according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] Such a locking device is known from US Patent 2009 / 0289062 A1. The locking device has a locking cover that can be moved between a closed and an open position by means of a guide device. The guide device is fixed to the inside of the vehicle relative to an opening that is closed or opened by the locking cover. The guide device has a vehicle-mounted guide rail. In addition, a support slide assembly is provided that carries the locking cover and moves it between the closed and open positions. The locking cover is fixedly connected to a lever arm that is pivotally mounted about a pivot joint. This pivot joint is movable along the guide rail.

[0003] Another locking device is known from DE 10 2021 129 941 A1. The known locking device has a locking cover which, in a closed position, closes a loading opening in the area of ​​an outer body panel of a vehicle body. The locking cover can be moved between the closed position and an open position, in which the locking cover is moved away from the loading opening within the outer body panel, by means of a drive device along arc-shaped guide rails arranged on the side of the vehicle. The locking cover is supported by a slide assembly that is movable along the guide rails.

[0004] The object of the invention is to create a locking device of the type mentioned above which requires only a small installation space and which enables reliable displacement of the locking cover between the closed position and the open position, regardless of a chosen drive concept.

[0005] This problem is solved by the features of claim 1. According to the invention, the carrier slide arrangement performs both the longitudinal displacement of the closing cover and a transverse displacement at the level of the opening from the inside to the outside, in order to close the opening or to be lifted out of it from the inside, depending on whether the closing cover is to be moved into the closed or the open position. The carrier slide arrangement with the auxiliary slide and the control slide requires only a small installation space, so that the solution according to the invention can be used particularly advantageously in confined spaces.Furthermore, the solution according to the invention is independent of a drive concept, since the carrier slide arrangement with the auxiliary slide and the control slide handles both the displacement of the locking cover along an inner surface of a vehicle body transversely to the opening and the actual locking and opening movement coaxially and in alignment with the opening. In the closed position, the locking cover is flush with the outer contour of a body skin surrounding the opening. In the open position, the locking cover is displaced inwards relative to the body skin towards the center of the vehicle and is moved along an inner surface of the body skin transversely to the opening, away from the alignment of the opening, in order to expose an opening in the body skin. A sensor assembly, which moves outwards in the open position of the locking cover, is housed behind the opening in a manner not shown in detail.The opening is a cutout in the outer body of the motor vehicle.

[0006] According to the invention, the control carriage is mounted to be movable along at least one guide rail. Preferably, at least two guide rails spaced parallel to each other are provided, on which guide slides are guided that support the control carriage. Advantageously, the control carriage is connected to a total of three guide rails via a three-point guide, wherein two guide rails flank the control carriage on opposite longitudinal sides and a third guide rail is fixed in position centrally to the outer guide rails and offset longitudinally from them. The control carriage is held on this third, central guide rail by means of a rear guide slide, while the two outermost guide slides are provided on the front of the control carriage on opposite sides and are held in the outermost guide rails.

[0007] According to the invention, a spring arrangement is provided between the control slide and the auxiliary slide, which holds the auxiliary slide in a fixed position relative to the control slide over its travel path, with force limitation. The fixed position means that the auxiliary slide initially moves together with the control slide before the auxiliary slide strikes a stop in the area of ​​the at least one guide rail, while the control slide continues to travel a limited additional distance. The travel of the auxiliary slide is limited by the stop when the closing cover moves from the open position. As soon as the auxiliary slide stops at the stop, the spring arrangement is tensioned, and the control slide continues to move against the spring force of this arrangement over the limited additional travel path.Preferably, at least one helical tension spring is provided as a spring arrangement, which is articulated to the auxiliary slide on one side and to the control slide on the other.

[0008] In one embodiment of the invention, a lifting mechanism is provided by means of which the locking cover is coupled to the auxiliary slide. The lifting mechanism is articulated to the locking cover on one side and to the auxiliary slide on the other, ensuring that the locking cover can be displaced laterally relative to a direction of travel of the auxiliary slide. This lateral displacement of the locking cover by means of the lifting mechanism only occurs when the auxiliary slide has reached its end position at the stop. The lifting mechanism is controlled by means of the additional travel distance of the control slide.

[0009] In a further embodiment of the invention, the lifting mechanism is designed as a multi-joint lever kinematic system with at least two pivot levers spaced apart from each other in the direction of travel of the auxiliary slide, which are articulated to the auxiliary slide on one side and to the locking cover on the other. The lifting movement by means of the multi-joint lever kinematic system is carried out in the manner of a parallelogram linkage. Preferably, a total of four pivot levers are provided, with each pair of pivot levers being movable synchronously about a common pivot axis. The two pairs of pivot levers are spaced apart from each other along a rear side of the locking cover, with one pair of pivot levers engaging a first end region of the locking cover and the other pair of pivot levers engaging an opposite second end region of the locking cover.

[0010] In a further embodiment of the invention, an actuating lever coupled to the control slide engages each pivoting lever. After the auxiliary slide has been locked in a fixed position, the actuating lever transmits a traversing movement of the control slide to the pivoting lever in order to pivot the latter for a lifting movement of the closing cover.

[0011] In a further embodiment of the invention, coupling points between the pivot levers and the actuating levers are formed by ball-joint or bolt-mounted swivel joints. This allows for good tolerance compensation. Furthermore, the ball-joint joints enable tool-free assembly and disassembly.

[0012] In a further embodiment of the invention, the actuating levers are aligned relative to the control slide and the pivot levers of the locking cover such that, during an opening or closing operation of the locking cover, a time offset occurs between the movement of opposing edge regions of the locking cover. The upper and lower edges of the locking cover are provided as opposing edge regions, in particular, if the locking cover is moved upwards in the vehicle direction and is essentially vertically oriented in its closed position. This ensures particularly reliable closing or opening of the locking cover.

[0013] In a further embodiment of the invention, a drive device is provided which is coupled to the control slide in order to move the control slide and the auxiliary slide along the at least one guide rail. The drive device comprises at least one drive unit, which can be hydraulic, pneumatic, or electric.

[0014] In a further embodiment of the invention, the drive device comprises an electric drive motor and a drive transmission system that couples the drive motor to the control slide. The drive transmission system can include compression- and / or tension-resistant drive transmission elements such as, in particular, threaded cables, flexible racks, Bowden cables, or cable pulls.

[0015] In a further embodiment of the invention, a cable drive system is provided as the drive transmission system, which engages the control carriage to enable the control carriage to be moved in opposite directions. The cable drive system is a particularly quiet yet reliable design of a drive transmission system. Advantageously, the cable drive system comprises at least one drive cable and several deflection pulleys.

[0016] Further advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the claims. A preferred embodiment of the invention is described below and illustrated with reference to the drawings. Fig. Figure 1 schematically shows, from the inside, a fender for a motor vehicle with a loading opening and an embodiment of a locking device according to the invention. Fig. 2 schematically the locking device according Fig. 1, Fig. 3 in perspective view an upper part of the locking device according to the Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, Fig. 4 in perspective view a lower part of the locking device according to the Fig. 1, Fig. 2 to Fig. 3, Fig. 5 in enlarged perspective view a partial area of ​​the locking device according to the Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3 to Fig. 4, Fig. 6 the section of the locking device after Fig. 5 in a closed position of a cover, Fig. 7 a section of a guide device for the locking device according to the Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 5 to Fig. 6 in an open position of the locking cover, Fig. 8 the representation according Fig. 7, however, in a closed position of the locking cover in which an auxiliary slide has moved against a stop, Fig. 9 in perspective view the upper part of the locking device in the closed position of the locking cover, Fig. 10 the lower part of the locking device in the closed position of the locking cover and Fig. 11, Fig. 12 to Fig. 13 in enlarged sectional view along the section line XI-XI in Fig. 1 the locking device according to the Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 6, Fig. 7, Fig. 8, Fig. 9 to Fig. 10 in different positions of the locking cover.

[0017] A motor vehicle in the form of a passenger car has a body section K ( Fig. 1), which in the illustrated embodiment forms a side front fender of the passenger car and is part of a vehicle body outer skin. The body section K has an opening 3 that forms a cutout in the body section K. The body section K is in Fig. 1 shown from the inside.

[0018] The opening 3 can be closed by a closing cover 2, which in its closed position ( Fig. 1, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 6, Fig. 8, Fig. 9, Fig. 10 and Fig. 13) closes the opening 3 flush. In the closed position, an outer surface of the locking cover 2 is flush and aligned with an outer contour of the body section K and thus with the vehicle body skin. A locking device 1 is provided for moving the locking cover 2 between its closed position and an open position in which the opening 3 is released. Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 6, Fig. 7, Fig. 8, Fig. 9, Fig. 10, Fig. 11, Fig. 12 to Fig. 13 is described in more detail below.

[0019] The locking device 1 has, according to the Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 6, Fig. 7, Fig. 8, Fig. 9, Fig. 10, Fig. 11, Fig. 12 to Fig. Figure 13 shows an auxiliary slide 7 and a control slide 6, which are guided along parallel guide rails 4, 5 along an inner side of the body section K so as to be movable at least largely in the vehicle's vertical direction. The control slide 6 and the auxiliary slide 7 move the locking cover 2 downwards in the direction of the open position, as described in more detail below. The open position in the vehicle's vertical direction is located at a distance below the closed position of the locking cover 2 on the inner side of the body section K. The guide rails 4 and 5 are fixedly attached to vehicle structural parts (not shown) that also support the vehicle's outer body skin, or directly to the outer body skin. The two upper guide rails 4 extend laterally on opposite sides of the opening 3.A lower guide rail 5 is positioned centrally between the two guide rails 4 and extends from an upper end face, which is positioned below the opening 3, to a lower area of ​​the body section K. The guide rail 5 is also rigidly connected to vehicle structural parts (not shown).

[0020] The control carriage 6 is guided linearly on the three guide rails 4 and 5. For this purpose, the control carriage 6 has two guide slides 16 ( Fig. 7 and Fig. 8) which are guided longitudinally in the guide rails 4. The two guide slides 16 are positioned at the upper, lateral end regions of the control carriage 6 and are fixedly connected to the control carriage 6. At a lower end region, the control carriage 6 has a triangular extension that carries a central guide slide 14. The guide slide 14 is guided longitudinally in the vehicle-fixed guide rail 5.

[0021] Based on the Fig. Figure 2 shows that the guide rails 4 and 5 are part of a vehicle-side support module T, which is rigidly connected to corresponding vehicle structural components. The support module T carries a drive unit A, which has an electric motor actuator and a cable system 15 that serves as a drive transmission system according to the invention. The cable system 15 has cables routed in the guide rails 4, which run over pulleys ( Fig. 3) are deflected at an upper end region of the support module T. Another cable pull engages the guide slide 14 in the guide rail 5. The entire cable pull system is driven by the electromechanical actuator, which is equipped with at least one pulley (not shown in detail). The drive unit A therefore enables the control carriage 6 to be moved along the guide rails 4 and along the central guide rail 5 both upwards and downwards.

[0022] The auxiliary slide 7 is mounted parallel to the control slide 6 in the guide rails 4 so as to be longitudinally movable. Guide grooves for corresponding guide slides of the auxiliary slide 7 run parallel to guide grooves of the guide rails 4 for the guide slides 16 of the control slide 6. The auxiliary slide 7 is positioned on an outer side of the control slide 6 facing the closing cover 2. A spring arrangement in the form of two helical tension springs 13 clamps the control slide 6 and the auxiliary slide 7 together during a movement such that the auxiliary slide 7 is fixedly associated with the control slide 6 during such a movement.Unspecified stops between the control slide 6 and the auxiliary slide 7 ensure that the two helical tension springs 13 press the auxiliary slide 7 and the control slide 6 against the stops, so that when the control slide 6 is moved by means of the cable system 15 of the drive unit A, the auxiliary slide 7 is carried along. Based on the... Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 the linkages of the two helical tension springs 13 on corresponding retaining lugs of the control slide 6 on the one hand and complementary retaining lugs of the auxiliary slide 7 on the other hand are clearly visible.

[0023] The auxiliary carriage 7 is thus dragged along with the control carriage 6. The auxiliary carriage 7 can only be moved in the guide rails 4 by means of its sliders 18, without these sliders 18 being driven by drive transmission elements, such as in particular the cable pull system 15.

[0024] The upward movement of the auxiliary carriage 7 in the vehicle's upward direction along the guide rails 4 is limited by two stops 17 on the guide rails 4, against which the sliders 18 of the auxiliary carriage 7 run during a movement in the vehicle's upward direction. Based on the Fig. 7 and Fig. Figure 8 clearly shows that, during an upward movement of the control carriage 6 along the guide rails 4 of the support module T, the auxiliary carriage 7 strikes the stops 17 of the guide rails 4 before the guide slides 16 of the control carriage 6 have reached their upper end position. The moment the auxiliary carriage 7 strikes the stops 17 by means of its slides 18, the drive unit A, with its cable system 15, drives the control carriage 6 further upward along the guide rails 4 in the upward direction of the vehicle. This inevitably stretches the helical tension springs 13. The driving force of the drive unit A is therefore greater than the spring force of the helical tension springs 13. The purpose of this additional travel distance of the control carriage 6 is as follows:

[0025] The auxiliary slide 7 carries the locking cover 2 by means of a lifting mechanism. The lifting mechanism consists of a multi-joint lever kinematic system with two upper pivot levers 8 and two lower pivot levers 11, each of which is articulated on the inside to support sections 2a and 2b of the locking cover 2 on one side and to complementary bearing blocks of the auxiliary slide 7 on the other. The support sections 2a and 2b on the inside of the locking cover 2 support the pivot points of the pivot levers 8 and 11 on the locking cover side. The two upper pivot levers 8 are spaced apart from each other parallel to each other approximately transversely to the vehicle's vertical direction and are mounted on the bearing blocks of the auxiliary slide 7 about a common pivot axis. The lower pivot levers 7 are also pivotally mounted on the bearing blocks of the auxiliary slide 7 about a common pivot axis, in a complementary manner.The pivot points of the pivot levers 8 and 11 on the support sections of the locking cover 2 also form a common pivot axis in pairs. This results in a lifting mechanism similar to a parallelogram linkage. The upper pivot levers 8 and the lower pivot levers 11 can be oriented differently relative to each other, so that a corresponding pivoting movement of the upper or lower pair of pivot levers can cause an offset lifting movement of the locking cover 2 between its upper and lower edges. The pivot levers 8 and 11 can also be referred to as control levers.

[0026] During an opening movement, the locking cover 2 is first moved inwards from its closed position towards the center of the vehicle by means of the described lifting mechanism, which is supported by the auxiliary slide 7. Subsequently, the inwardly moved locking cover 2 is moved downwards along an inner side of the body section K in the vehicle's vertical direction until the opening 3 is at least largely completely uncovered by the locking cover 2. The transition from this open position back to the closed position occurs in reverse. First, the locking cover 2 is moved upwards again to approximately the level of the opening 3. Then, the lifting mechanism moves the locking cover 2 outwards again into a circumferential edge contour of the opening 3 until the locking cover 2 is flush with the opening 3.

[0027] The additional travel of the control slide 6 is provided for relocating the lifting mechanism, i.e., for relocating the pivot levers 8 and the pivot levers 11. To achieve synchronized movement of the upper pivot levers 8, the two upper pivot levers 8 are connected to each other via a crossbar 9. An actuating lever 10 engages the crossbar 9 and is coupled to it on one side and to a centrally located upper web section of the control slide 6 on the other side via ball-joint or bolt-mounted pivot joints (not specified in detail). Similarly, another actuating lever 12 is provided for the lower pair of pivot levers 11, engaging the control slide 6 on one side and a support section of the locking cover 2 between the two pivot levers 11 on the other.This actuating lever 12 is also connected to the control slide 6 on the one hand and to the pivot levers 11 or the locking cover 2 on the other hand via ball-head or bolt-bearing swivel joints.

[0028] Based on the Fig. 5 is indicated by a dash-dotted line, showing the additional extension of the pre-tensioned spring arrangement in the form of the two helical tension springs 13 between the normal, trailed drive position of the auxiliary slide 7 together with the control slide 6 and the additional travel of the control slide 6 for actuating the lifting mechanism for the closing cover 2.

[0029] During an upward movement in the vehicle's vertical direction from the open position, the control carriage 6 is moved further upwards by means of the drive unit A as soon as the auxiliary carriage 7 abuts the stops 17 of the guide rails 4. This additional movement inevitably leads to a relative movement between the control carriage 6 and the pivot levers 8 and 11, respectively. Due to the coupling of the actuating levers 10 and 12 between the control carriage 6 and the pairs of pivot levers 8 and 11, this results in an inevitable lifting movement of the closing cover 2 outwards and thus into the edge contour of the opening 3. The closing cover 2 is thus moved into its closed position. If the closing cover 2 is now to be moved back from the closed position to the open position, the control carriage 6 is driven downwards in the opposite direction by means of the drive unit A.The control slide 6 necessarily pulls the actuating levers 10 and 12 downwards, thereby exerting a tensile force and consequently a torque on the pivot lever pairs 8 and 11, which retracts the locking cover 2 inwards towards the center of the vehicle. During a further downward movement, the control slide 6 necessarily pulls the auxiliary slide 7 along with it. For this purpose, the previously mentioned, unspecified stops are provided, which ensure a positive engagement of the auxiliary slide 7 during the downward movement of the control slide 6. The locking cover 2 remains in its lowered position towards the auxiliary slide 7.

Claims

[1] Locking device (1) for an opening (3) of a motor vehicle, comprising a locking cover (2) which can be moved between a closed position closing the opening (3) and an open position releasing the opening (3) by means of a guide device, wherein the guide device - in its ready-to-use state - is fixedly arranged on the inside of the vehicle relative to the opening (3) in order to move the locking cover (2) from the closed position inwards to the open position, and wherein the guide device comprises a support slide assembly to which the locking cover (2) is assigned, as well as at least one - in its ready-to-use state - vehicle-fixed guide rail (4, 5) along which the support slide assembly can be moved, wherein the support slide assembly comprises an auxiliary slide (7) and a control slide (6), characterized by, that the locking cover (2) is movably mounted on the auxiliary slide (7) at least largely orthogonally to a longitudinal displacement direction of the auxiliary slide (7), that the control slide (6) is coupled to the auxiliary slide (7) for common movement and is additionally movable relative to the auxiliary slide (7) in a limited direction of travel, and that the control slide (6) is connected to the locking cover (2) in a motion-transmitting manner in order to control a transverse displacement of the locking cover (2) relative to the auxiliary slide (7) depending on the additional movement of the control slide (6) in the direction of travel, as well as that the control slide (6) is movably mounted along the at least one guide rail (4, 5), and that a spring arrangement (13) is provided between the control slide (6) and the auxiliary slide (7),which holds the auxiliary carriage (7) in a fixed position relative to the control carriage (6) over the travel path of the auxiliary carriage (7) with force limitation. [2] Locking device (1) according to claim 1, characterized by , that a lifting mechanism is provided by means of which the closing cover (2) is coupled to the auxiliary slide (7). [3] Locking device (1) according to claim 2, characterized by , that the lifting mechanism is designed as a multi-joint lever kinematics with at least two pivot levers (8, 11) spaced apart from each other in the direction of travel of the auxiliary slide (7), which are articulated to the auxiliary slide (7) on one side and to the closing cover (2) on the other. [4] Locking device (1) according to claim 3, characterized by , that an actuating lever (10, 12) coupled to the control slide (6) engages each pivot lever (8, 11). [5] Locking device (1) according to claim 4, characterized by, that coupling points between the pivot levers (8, 11) and the actuating levers (10, 12) are formed by ball-head or bolt-mounted swivel joints. [6] Locking device (1) according to claim 4 or 5, characterized by , that the actuating levers (10, 12) or the pivot levers (8, 11) are aligned relative to the control slide (6) and to the locking cover (2) in such a way that during an opening or closing process of the locking cover (2) there is a time offset between a movement of opposite edge areas of the locking cover. [7] Locking device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that a drive device (A) is provided which is coupled to the control carriage (6) in order to move the control carriage (6) and the auxiliary carriage (7) along the at least one guide rail (4, 5). [8] Locking device (1) according to claim 7, characterized by, that the drive unit (A) comprises an electric drive motor and a drive transmission system that couples the drive motor to the control carriage (6). [9] Locking device (1) according to claim 8, characterized by , that a cable pull system (15) is provided as the drive transmission system, which engages the control carriage (6) in order to be able to move the control carriage (6) in opposite directions.

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