CAR LOCK

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a motor vehicle lock with a lock latch pivotable about a lock latch axis according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] The motor vehicle lock in question can be assigned to any locking element of a motor vehicle. This can include tailgates, trunk lids, hoods, especially engine hoods, side doors, or the like. These locking elements can be hinged or designed like sliding doors.

[0003] High crash resistance is a crucial requirement for vehicle locks. This means preventing unintended opening in the event of a crash, even when exceptionally high crash forces are transmitted to the lock latch via a locking bolt.

[0004] From US patent 2011 / 133491, a mechanism is known that prevents the lock latch and locking pawl from moving past each other in different planes due to a crash.

[0005] A known automotive lock (EP 2 492 423 B1) features a latch that pivots about a latch axis and typically interacts with a locking bar. To lock the latch in its respective closed position, the automotive lock incorporates a locking mechanism consisting of a pawl assembly and a blocking assembly that engages the pawl assembly. The pawl assembly comprises a carrier pawl and a pawl pivotally mounted on it, forming a toggle lever mechanism. Such a two-part pawl assembly generally offers a high level of user comfort due to low operating forces and minimal noise during locking and unlocking. However, the connecting joint between the carrier pawl and the pawl represents a weak point when it comes to absorbing the aforementioned high crash forces.

[0006] The invention is therefore based on the problem of designing and further developing the known motor vehicle lock in such a way as to increase crash safety.

[0007] The above problem is solved in a motor vehicle lock according to the preamble of claim 1 by the features of the characterizing part of claim 1.

[0008] The fundamental consideration is that a certain degree of deformation-induced yielding of the pawl or its pivot bearing, caused by crash forces transmitted by the locking element, is accepted. To prevent unintentional opening, a crash-resistant surface is provided against which the pawl can engage to dissipate the crash forces. This yielding results from deformation of the pawl, its pivot bearing, or any components coupled to the pawl, through which a portion of the crash forces are dissipated.

[0009] Specifically, it is proposed that a crash-locking surface is provided and that, in the event of a crash, an engagement surface of the pawl or its pivot bearing yields due to deformation caused by crash forces transmitted by the locking element, engages with the crash-locking surface, so that at least part of the crash forces are dissipated via the crash-locking surface.

[0010] The proposed solution allows for an increase in crash safety through the application of simple design measures. Furthermore, the proposed solution enables the components of the locking mechanism to be designed with low mechanical weaknesses, thus reducing costs, without compromising the anticipated increase in crash safety.

[0011] Claim 2 relates to a preferred embodiment of the blocking arrangement for blocking the pawl assembly in the locked state. Here, too, a toggle lever mechanism is used in one variant, which offers particular advantages with regard to ease of use.

[0012] The proposed solution is particularly effective when applied to a two-part pawl assembly. The user-friendliness associated with the two-part pawl assembly is combined here with exceptionally high crash safety.

[0013] The aforementioned cost-effective design of the pawl assembly is manifested, according to claims 5 to 7, in the use of plastic material for at least a part of the pawl assembly. Specifically, claim 6 relates to the design of the pivot bearing of the pawl made of a plastic material, while claim 6 relates to the design of at least a part of the pawl made of a plastic material.

[0014] According to the equally preferred embodiment of claim 7, at least a part of the carrier latch, preferably the entire carrier latch, may be made of a plastic material. Alternatively, the carrier latch according to claim 7 may also be made at least partially of a metallic material.

[0015] Preferred embodiments for the design of the crash barrier surface are shown in claims 8 and 9. According to claim 8, a bearing mandrel associated with the pivot bearing of the pawl is used as the crash barrier surface. In the equally preferred embodiment according to claim 9, the engagement surface of the pawl and the crash barrier surface are aligned such that, in the event of a crash, at least partial positive locking between the two surfaces is possible. This makes it easy to prevent the engagement surface of the pawl from slipping off the crash barrier surface in the event of a crash.

[0016] According to claim 10, a particularly easy-to-manufacture variant for the crash barrier surface consists in the crash barrier surface being connected to, or even formed by, a strike plate of the vehicle lock. In the latter case, it is conceivable that the crash barrier surface is provided by a bend in the strike plate, so that the crash barrier surface can be implemented without additional components.

[0017] Finally, the proposed solution can in principle also be applied to the blocking arrangement as proposed in claim 11.

[0018] This allows the crash safety of the vehicle lock to be further increased with minimal effort.

[0019] The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to a drawing that illustrates only one embodiment. The drawing shows: Fig. 1 shows a proposed motor vehicle lock with the latch in the main locking position in a perspective view; Fig. 2 shows the motor vehicle lock according to Fig. 1 in a top view, and Fig. 3 the motor vehicle lock according to Fig. 2 in case of a crash.

[0020] The motor vehicle lock 1 shown in the drawing can be assigned to any locking element of a motor vehicle. In this respect, reference may be made to the general part of the description.

[0021] The motor vehicle lock 1 is equipped with a lock latch 2 that pivots about a lock latch axis 2a and moves into an open position ( Fig. 2 in a dashed line) and at least one closed position ( Fig. 2 (in a solid line) can be brought. Here, and preferably, the lock latch 2 is not only in the in Fig. 2 The lock can be moved to a secondary locking position (not shown) rather than the main locking position shown. However, this is of minor importance for the proposed solution. In the following, the locking position always refers to the main locking position. All related statements apply accordingly to any secondary locking position.

[0022] In the illustrated, assembled state, the latch 2 is in the closed position, engaging a locking element 3, here preferably a locking bar. In the open position, the latch 2 releases the locking element 3.

[0023] In one variant, the vehicle lock 1 is arranged on the associated locking element, while the locking part 3 is arranged on the vehicle body. This can also be reversed.

[0024] To hold the latch 2 in its respective closed position, the vehicle lock 1 has a locking mechanism 4. The locking mechanism 4 can be moved into a locked state by locking the latch 2 in the closed position. This is shown in the drawing. The locking mechanism 4 can also be moved into a released state by releasing the latch 2 in its open position. The released state is not shown in the drawing.

[0025] The locking mechanism 4 has a pawl arrangement 5 with a pawl 7 mounted on a pivot bearing 6 for locking engagement with the lock latch 2.

[0026] It is essential that a crash-stop surface 8 is provided and that, in the event of a crash, an engagement surface 9 of the pawl 7 engages with the crash-stop surface 8 when the pawl 7 or its pivot bearing yields due to deformation caused by crash forces transmitted from the locking element 3, so that at least part of the crash forces are dissipated via the crash-stop surface 8. This is shown in the illustration. Fig. 3 to be seen. In the event of a crash, high crash forces C1, C2, C3, C4 act from the locking element 3 on the latch 2, which are transmitted via the latch 2 and the locking pawl 7 and are derived from the crash barrier 8. The term "crash forces" encompasses all forces and torques resulting from the interaction between the locking element 3 and the latch 2 in the event of a crash.

[0027] The locking mechanism 4 further comprises a blocking arrangement 10, which serves to block the pawl arrangement 5 in the locked state. The arrangement is designed such that the pawl arrangement 5 would immediately leave the locked state, driven by the latch 2, if the blocking arrangement 10 did not exert a blocking effect on the pawl arrangement 5.

[0028] The blocking arrangement 10 has a first blocking lever 10a and a second blocking lever 10b, which form a toggle lever mechanism 11 for blocking the pawl arrangement 5 and are coupled to each other via a toggle joint 12.

[0029] The drawing shows the locking mechanism 4 in its locked state. During an opening process, the blocking arrangement 10 can be actuated in such a way that the locking mechanism 4 is moved from the depicted locked state to the released state. This, too, plays only a minor role in the proposed solution.

[0030] The locking pawl assembly 5 includes, in addition to the locking pawl 7, a support pawl 13 for locking the latch 2. The support pawl 13 is pivotally coupled to the locking pawl 7 via a connecting joint 14. The connecting joint 14 provides the pivot bearing 6 for the locking pawl 7. Alternatively, though not shown, the locking pawl 7 can be mounted on a housing-mounted pivot bearing. The term "housing-mounted" always refers to the lock housing 15. The term "lock housing" is to be interpreted broadly. It encompasses not only a housing in the narrow sense, but also support components, such as a strike plate or the like. In this case, the strike plate is preferably a sheet of high-strength steel that provides the pivot bearings for various lock components, in particular for the latch 2 and / or the support locking pawl 14.

[0031] Here, and preferably, the pawl 7 and the carrier pawl 13 also form a toggle lever mechanism 16 via the connecting joint 14. However, the interesting aspect is that the blocking arrangement 10 for blocking the pawl arrangement 5 in the area of ​​the connecting joint 14 is coupled, or can be coupled, to the pawl arrangement 5, here and preferably via the connecting joint 14.

[0032] The locking pawl 7 now has at least one locking surface 17 for at least one engagement surface 18 of the lock latch 2 at a location remote from the associated connecting joint 14, wherein the support pawl 13 is pivotably mounted at a location remote from the associated connecting joint 14, here and preferably fixed to the lock housing 15, via a pivot bearing 19.

[0033] The toggle lever mechanism 16 of the pawl assembly 5 is designed such that it is in Fig. 2 would buckle upwards if the blocking arrangement 10 did not exert a blocking force on the pawl arrangement 5 via the connecting joint 14.

[0034] The pivot bearing 6 of the pawl 7, in particular the connecting joint 14 between the support pawl 13 and the pawl 7, is preferably at least partially made of a plastic material. With regard to the illustration according to Fig. 3 This is also sensible, since any deformation caused by possible crash forces leads to an engagement between the engagement surface 9 of the pawl 7 and the crash locking surface 8.

[0035] It may even be provided that at least part of the pawl 7 is made of a plastic material. In a particularly preferred embodiment, part of the pawl 7 is made of a metallic material and another part of the pawl 7 is made of a plastic material, such that the transmission of the crash forces via the crash barrier surface 8 occurs essentially via the metallic part of the pawl 7, and not via the plastic part of the pawl 7.

[0036] Fig. 3 This further shows that at least part of the carrier latch 13, here and preferably the entire carrier latch 13, can be made of a plastic material without impairing the proposed crash safety. Additionally or alternatively, it can also be provided that at least part of the carrier latch 13, preferably the entire carrier latch 13, is made of a metallic material.

[0037] Several advantageous variants are conceivable for realizing the crash-stop surface 8. Here, and preferably, the crash-stop surface 8 is part of a bearing mandrel, which is part of the pivot bearing 19 of the carrier pawl 13. This is shown in the illustration. Fig. 3 to be taken.

[0038] The representation according to Fig. 3 Finally, it shows that the engagement surface 9 of the pawl 7 and the crash-locking surface 8 are designed such that, in the event of a crash, they can be brought into at least partial positive engagement with each other. The positive engagement is preferably achieved such that it acts transversely to the direction of yielding of the pawl 7 or its pivot bearing 6, thus preventing lateral slippage transverse to the direction of yielding of the pawl 7 or its pivot bearing 6. This is a particularly simple measure for further increasing crash safety. For this additional positive engagement, see in Fig. 3 An additional bulge 21 can be seen in the engagement surface 9 of the locking pawl 7.

[0039] It should also be noted that a particularly simple way to implement a crash barrier 8 is to connect the crash barrier 8 to, or form it from, a strike plate of the vehicle lock 1. As mentioned above, this results in a particularly cost-effective design, especially since no additional parts are required for the implementation of the crash barrier 8.

[0040] In principle, it can also be provided that a further crash barrier surface is included and that, in the event of a crash, an engagement surface of the locking arrangement 10, in particular of the first locking lever 10a, engages with the further crash barrier surface when the locking arrangement 10 yields due to deformation caused by crash forces transmitted by the locking element 3, so that at least part of the crash forces are dissipated via the further crash barrier surface. The associated increased crash safety can be achieved even if the first locking lever 10a is made of a plastic material.

[0041] Preferably, one of the locking levers of the locking arrangement 10, here the second locking lever 10b, is pivotably mounted at a location remote from the knee joint 12, and preferably fixed to the lock housing 15 via a pivot bearing 24. This results in the aforementioned knee lever mechanism 11, by which high locking forces can be transmitted via the locking arrangement 10 to the pawl assembly 5 without requiring a high support force, particularly at the knee joint 12.

[0042] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the further crash-locking surface is part of a bearing mandrel, which is part of the above pivot bearing 24 of the second locking lever 10b.

[0043] Finally, it is preferable that the engagement surface of the first locking lever 10a and the further crash-locking surface are designed such that, in the event of a crash, they can be brought into at least partial positive engagement with each other. In this respect, slippage of the engagement surface from the further crash-locking surface is also prevented.

Claims

1. Motor vehicle lock comprising a lock catch (2) which can be pivoted about a lock-catch axis (2a) and can be brought into an open position and into at least one closed position, wherein, in the mounted state, the lock catch (2) in the closed position is in retaining engagement with a locking part (3), in particular a lock striker, and in the open position releases the locking part (3), wherein the motor vehicle lock (1) has a locking mechanism (4) which can be brought into a locked state, in which it locks the lock catch (2) in the closed position, and can be brought into a release state, in which it releases the lock catch (2) into its open position, wherein the locking mechanism (4) has a locking pawl arrangement (5) with a locking pawl (7) which is mounted pivotably via a pivot bearing (6) for locking engagement with the lock catch (2), wherein a crash locking surface (8) is provided and wherein, in the case of a crash in the event of deformation-induced yielding of the locking pawl (7) or its pivot bearing (6) as a result of crash forces transmitted by the locking part (3), an engagement surface (9) of the locking pawl (7) comes into engagement with the crash locking surface (8) such that at least some of the crash forces are dissipated via the crash locking surface (8), characterized in that the locking pawl arrangement (5) has a carrier pawl (13) which is pivotably coupled to the locking pawl (7) via a connecting joint (14) and in that the connecting joint (14) provides the pivot bearing (6) of the locking pawl (7).

2. Motor vehicle lock according to Claim 1, characterized in that the locking mechanism (4) has a blocking arrangement (10) for blocking the locking pawl arrangement (5) in the locked state, and in that the blocking arrangement (10) has a first blocking lever (10a) and a second blocking lever (10b) which form a toggle lever mechanism (11) for blocking the locking pawl arrangement (5) and are coupled to one another via a toggle lever (12).

3. Motor vehicle lock according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the locking pawl (7) and the carrier pawl (13) form a toggle lever mechanism (16) via the connecting joint (14), further preferably in that the blocking arrangement (10), in particular the first blocking lever (10a), is coupled or can be coupled to the locking pawl arrangement (5), in particular via the connecting joint (14), in order to block the locking pawl arrangement (5) in the region of the connecting joint (14).

4. Motor vehicle lock according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, at a point which is at a distance from the associated connecting joint (14), the locking pawl (7) has at least one locking surface (17) for at least one engagement surface (18) of the lock catch (2), and in that the carrier pawl (13) is mounted via a pivot bearing (19) such that it can be pivoted at a point which is at a distance from the associated connecting joint (14), in particular in a manner which is fixed in relation to a lock housing (15).

5. Motor vehicle lock according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pivot bearing (6) of the locking pawl (7), in particular the connecting joint (14) between the carrier pawl (13) and the locking pawl (7), is made at least in part from a plastics material.

6. Motor vehicle lock according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one part of the locking pawl (7) is made of a plastics material, preferably in that a part of the locking pawl (7) is made of a metal material and a part of the locking pawl (7) is made of a plastics material, in such a way that the dissipation of the crash forces via the crash locking surface (8) takes place substantially via the metal part of the locking pawl (7).

7. Motor vehicle lock according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one part of the carrier pawl (13), preferably the entire carrier pawl (13), is made of a plastics material, or in that at least one part of the carrier pawl (13), preferably the entire carrier pawl (13), is made of a metal material.

8. Motor vehicle lock according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the crash locking surface (8) is a constituent part of a bearing mandrel which is a constituent part of the pivot bearing (19) of the carrier pawl (13).

9. Motor vehicle lock according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the engagement surface (9) of the locking pawl (7) and the crash locking surface (8) are designed in such a way that they can be brought into engagement with one another at least partially in a positively locking manner in the case of a crash.

10. Motor vehicle lock according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the crash locking surface (8) is connected to or formed by a strike plate of the motor vehicle lock (1).

11. Motor vehicle lock according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a further crash locking surface is provided, and in that an engagement surface of the blocking arrangement (10), in particular of the first blocking lever (10a), comes into engagement with the further crash locking surface in the case of a crash in the event of deformation-induced yielding of the blocking arrangement as a result of crash forces transmitted by the locking part (3), such that at least some of the crash forces are dissipated via the further crash locking surface.