Lock holder for a motor vehicle locking device

Abstract

The invention relates to a lock holder for a motor vehicle locking device, in particular a motor vehicle lock and preferably a motor vehicle door lock. In its basic form, the lock holder is provided with a base plate (1) and a shackle (2) standing on same. The shackle (2) has at least two bolts (2a, 2b) and a connecting piece (2c) connecting the two bolts (2a, 2b) on the upper side. In addition, an additional reinforcing plate (3) is provided through which the two bolts (2a, 2b) extend and which is arranged at least on parts of the surface of the base plate (1). According to the invention, the reinforcing plate (3) extends over a bead (1a) of the base plate which connects the two bolts (2a, 2b) to one another.

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] Lock holder for a motor vehicle locking device

[0003] The invention relates to a lock holder for a motor vehicle locking device, in particular a motor vehicle lock, preferably a motor vehicle door lock, with a base plate and a bracket standing thereon, wherein the bracket has at least two bolts and a web connecting the two bolts on the upper side, and wherein an additional reinforcement plate is provided which is penetrated by the two bolts and rests on the base plate at least partially.

[0004] Lock holders for motor vehicle locking systems are typically installed on the body side and connected, for example, to a B-pillar of a vehicle body or a C-pillar. A locking mechanism consisting of a rotary latch and pawl, which is part of the vehicle locking system and is located on the door or tailgate side for this purpose, typically interacts with the lock holder in question. However, the vehicle locking system can also be designed as a seat lock. In this case, the locking mechanism is located on a vehicle seat, while the lock holder is connected to the vehicle body or a bracket.

[0005] Particularly in the case of motor vehicle locks, and especially motor vehicle door locks, the vehicle locking system, specifically the locking mechanism in conjunction with the lock holder, must withstand considerable tensile forces in crash scenarios. In fact, in the event of a crash, the locking mechanism surrounding the lock holder or the rotary latch equipped with the pawl prevents a corresponding vehicle door from bursting open in the event of an accident. This provides optimal protection for the occupants inside. At the same time, this approach ensures that safety features installed in the relevant vehicle door, such as side airbags, impact protection, etc., are effective.

[0006] For this reason, the design of both the locking mechanism, consisting of the rotary latch and pawl, and the lock holder, takes safety aspects into account, particularly important. This is reflected, for example, in the predominantly high-strength steel materials used in this area. Furthermore, there are numerous approaches in the state of the art to prevent the shackle from tearing off from the base plate in such a lock holder, particularly in the event of a crash.

[0007] For example, the generic prior art according to DE 601 14 107 T2 involves providing an additional plate that partially covers a lock holder described therein. The plate in question is intended to prevent the lock holder from shifting along a direction Ox, i.e., in the direction of the two bolts. The ultimate goal here is to simplify the assembly and position adjustment of a corresponding locking plate of the lock.

[0008] Another lock holder is described in DE 10 2018 125 535 A1, but it does not have an additional reinforcement plate. EP 2 562 339 B1 concerns a wedge device for a lock holder that interacts with springs.

[0009] The state of the art has proven itself in principle, but still offers room for further improvement. Due to the increasing weight of vehicles and thus also the increasing weight of vehicle doors and hatches, in the event of an accident or crash, it can be expected that the tearing forces acting on the body-side lock holder will also increase. These forces are due to the inertial forces acting on the door or hatch in question. Attempts have been made to address this with new materials, but this drives up the costs of such lock holders. The invention aims to remedy this situation.

[0010] The invention is based on the technical problem of further developing such a lock holder for a motor vehicle locking device in such a way that, taking into account a structurally simple and functional design, a further increase in the absorbable tear forces is observed.

[0011] To solve this technical problem, a generic lock holder for a motor vehicle locking device is characterized in the context of the invention in that the reinforcing plate overlaps a bead of the base plate connecting the two bolts to one another.

[0012] In this context, it has proven particularly effective if the bead connects the two bolts of the bracket and is curved upwards relative to the base plate in the direction of the bracket. Furthermore, the design is usually such that the reinforcement plate is T-shaped when viewed from above, with a T-web connecting the two bolts and a T-leg at the front. The T-web and the T-leg of the reinforcement plate typically have a total length that corresponds at most to the length of the bead. This means that the total length of the reinforcement plate, comprising the T-leg and the T-web, corresponds at most to the total length of the bead.

[0013] In this way, the design is initially such that the bead connects the two bolts to each other. The invention is based on the realization that tearing forces acting on the lock holder generally act on the lock holder or the shackle of the lock holder in a plane spanned by the two bolts. As a result, when torn off, one or both bolts are sheared off from the base plate holding them or are torn out of the base plate. This usually applies to the bolt at the rear of the lock holder when viewed from the front.The invention is based on the knowledge that the front bolt in the front view is generally encompassed by the rotary latch, so that when tearing forces are applied, the rear bolt in particular, which is not encompassed by the rotary latch, is subjected to high tensile forces, which in the event of a tear-off lead to the bolt being sheared off or simply torn out of the base plate.

[0014] In order to maximize the forces required for this, or to increase them compared to the prior art, the invention essentially relies on two aspects. Firstly, the bead connecting the two bolts provides additional stiffening of the base plate and also of the connection between the two bolts, as well as the coupling between the bolt and the base plate. In addition, the additional reinforcement plate provided according to the invention further stiffens this connection area between the two bolts. This can be attributed to the fact that the tearing forces acting on the lock holder generally act on the lock holder along a plane connecting the two bolts.According to the invention, the bead and the reinforcement plate interact precisely in the direction of this plane as a connection between the two bolts, so that the tearing forces absorbed by the lock holder according to the invention can be significantly increased compared to the prior art. This represents the key advantages.

[0015] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the design is such that the front T-leg of the reinforcement plate has arms that overlap the bead on the base plate. Both arms are angled when viewed from the front. In fact, the two angled arms generally comprise a plate web connected to the reinforcement plate on the one hand, and a bead web adapted to the material thickness of the bead and connected at an angle to the plate web on the other. It has proven particularly advantageous if the bead web is connected to the plate web at right angles. Furthermore, the two bead webs are generally spaced apart to match the width of the bead.

[0016] This ensures that the reinforcement plate can be perfectly coupled to the bead connecting the two bolts. The two bead webs ensure that the reinforcement plate is centered relative to the bead. This is further enhanced by the fact that the two bolts pass through the reinforcement plate.

[0017] Furthermore, the advantageous T-shape design of the reinforcement plate ensures that it can be manufactured easily and cost-effectively. This is because the reinforcement plate can generally be produced through a combined punching / bending process. The punching process defines both the T-leg and the T-web. Subsequently, it is only necessary to bend the bead web at a right angle to the plate web. This requires an additional bending process. In principle, however, the punching and bending processes can also be performed in one step, thus keeping production costs for the T-shaped reinforcement plate according to the invention low.

[0018] This also applies if, for example, hardened or high-strength steel is used as the material for the reinforcement plate, as is the case for the base plate and the bolt of the lock holder as well as for the locking mechanism.

[0019] As a further advantageous embodiment, the invention recommends that the two bead webs and the bead are each axially symmetrical relative to a plane of symmetry passing through the two bolts of the shackle. As already explained in the introduction, tearing forces typically act on the lock holder according to the invention in or along this plane of symmetry. The symmetrical design ensures that these tearing forces can be optimally and uniformly absorbed by the lock holder.

[0020] From a manufacturing perspective, it has proven effective if the two bolts of the bracket with the reinforcement plate attached are anchored or will be anchored in the corresponding bracket openings of the base plate. The anchoring of the bracket bolts in the base plate can be achieved, for example, by riveting the ends of the respective bolts to the base plate. Alternatively, or additionally, the bolts can also be welded to the base plate.Because the two bead webs are advantageously spaced apart from one another in accordance with the width of the bead, any tilting of the reinforcement plate is not observed when tearing forces are applied, but rather the reinforcement plate fulfills its original function, namely to reinforce and stiffen the lock holder in the direction of a plane connecting the two bolts, because the tearing forces acting on the lock holder in the event of a crash generally act on the lock holder in or along this plane.

[0021] The result is a lock holder that is capable of absorbing even greater tensile forces than the state of the art, particularly in the event of an accident or crash. This is achieved by using an additional reinforcement plate that can be manufactured cost-effectively and combined with the bolts of the shackle and the base plate. This represents the key advantage.

[0022] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to a drawing which merely represents an exemplary embodiment; in the drawings:

[0023] Figs. 1 and 2 show the lock holder according to the invention in an overview and a detailed view. The figures show a lock holder for a motor vehicle locking device, and in particular a motor vehicle lock. Specifically, this is a lock holder for a motor vehicle door lock. For this purpose, the motor vehicle door lock in question is generally mounted in or on a motor vehicle door (not shown). The lock holder, in contrast, is located on the body side. It can be seen that the lock holder, in its basic construction, is equipped with a base plate 1 and a bracket 2 resting thereon.

[0024] The bracket 2 has at least two bolts 2a, 2b. The two bolts 2a, 2b are divided into a front bolt 2a and a rear bolt 2b. The front bolt 2a is generally engaged by a rotary latch (not shown) as part of a locking mechanism of the motor vehicle locking device. The two bolts 2a, 2b are connected to each other at the top by a web 2c. According to the exemplary embodiment, the two bolts 2a, 2b and the web 2c are formed as a single piece.

[0025] In addition, a supplementary reinforcement plate 3 is provided, through which the two bolts 2a, 2b extend. The reinforcement plate 3 rests at least partially on the base plate 1 of the lock holder, thus partially or completely covering the surface of the base plate 1. According to the invention, the design is such that the reinforcement plate 3 engages over a bead 1a of the base plate 1 that connects the two bolts 2a, 2b to one another. The bead 1a of the base plate 1 extends in the direction of the two bolts 2a, 2b, specifically over the entire length of the base plate 1 between two fastening openings 4, with the aid of which the base plate 1 is fastened to the body. The two bolts 2a, 2b are connected to one another by the bead 1a of the base plate 1.

[0026] Comparing Figures 1 and 2, it can be seen that the reinforcement plate 3 is T-shaped when viewed from above. In fact, the reinforcement plate 3 consists of a T-shaped web 3a connecting the two bolts 2a, 2b, and a front T-shaped leg 3b. The T-shaped leg 3b is connected at right angles to the T-shaped web 3a. It can also be seen that the T-shaped web 3a essentially connects the two bolts 2a, 2b.

[0027] The T-web 3a and the T-leg 3b together have a total length that corresponds to that of the bead 1a at its maximum. This means that the bead 1a on the base plate 1 is generally somewhat larger or longer than the total length of the T-web 3a, including the front T-leg 3b.

[0028] The front T-leg 3b is equipped with two arms 5 that span the bead 1a on the base plate 1. It can be seen that the two arms 5 are each angled when viewed from the front. In fact, the two arms 5 each consist of a plate web 5a connected to the reinforcement plate 3 and an additional bead web 5b that is adapted to a material thickness S of the bead 1a and connected at an angle to the plate web 5a. This means that the length of the bead web 5b essentially corresponds to the material thickness S of the bead 1a, as can be seen particularly from the detailed illustration in Fig. 2.

[0029] The bead web 5b of the arm 5 is connected at right angles to the plate web 5a. Furthermore, the design is such that the two bead webs 5b are spaced apart by a distance adapted to a width B of the bead 1a. In this way, the bead 1a is largely positively received between the two bead webs 5b and thus the two arms 5 on the reinforcing plate 3, and the two arms 5 ensure that the reinforcing plate 3 is centered relative to the bead 1a. This is further assisted by the fact that the two bolts 2a, 2b pass through corresponding openings in the reinforcing plate 3. The two bead webs 5b and the bead 1a are each axially symmetrical with respect to an axis of symmetry or plane of symmetry A passing through the two bolts 2a, 2b of the bracket 2. This also applies to the reinforcement plate 3 and the base plate 1 of the lock holder.This symmetrical design ensures that any tearing forces acting on the lock holder in the direction of this symmetry plane A are absorbed symmetrically and introduced into the body via screws or other fastening means that penetrate the fastening openings 4. At the same time, this design ensures that, in particular, the rear bolt 2b is not torn out of the base plate 1 in the event of any tearing forces acting on the lock holder.

[0030] The reinforcement plate 3 can be manufactured as a combined stamped / bent part, typically made of high-strength steel. Furthermore, the design is usually such that the two bolts 2a, 2b of the bracket, with the reinforcement plate 3 attached to or on the bolts 2a, 2b, engage in corresponding bracket openings in the base plate 1 (not shown in the figures) and are anchored in these bracket openings. In fact, according to the exemplary embodiment, these bracket openings are located in the bead 1 and are therefore additionally stiffened by the bead 1. Conventional fastening methods can be used to couple the respective bolts 2a, 2b in the bracket openings to the base plate; for example, the bolts 2a, 2b can be riveted into the base plate 1 and / or welded to the base plate 1.

[0031] List of reference symbols:

[0032] Base plate 1

[0033] Bead 1a Bracket 2

[0034] Bolts 2a, 2b

[0035] Steges 2c

[0036] Reinforcement plate 3

[0037] T-bar 3a T-leg 3b

[0038] Mounting holes 4

[0039] Arms 5

[0040] Slab bridge 5a

[0041] Bead webs 5b

[0042] Plane of symmetry A

[0043] Width B

[0044] Material thickness S

Claims

Patent claims 1. Lock holder for a motor vehicle locking device, in particular a motor vehicle lock and preferably a motor vehicle door lock, comprising a base plate (1 ) and a bracket (2) mounted thereon, wherein the bracket (2) has at least two bolts (2a, 2b) and a web (2c) connecting the two bolts (2a, 2b) on its upper side, and wherein an additional reinforcing plate (3) penetrated by the two bolts (2a, 2b) is provided, which rests at least partially on the base plate (1 ), characterized in that the reinforcing plate (3) overlaps a bead (1 a) of the base plate (1 ) connecting the two bolts (2a, 2b) to each other.

2. Lock holder according to claim 1, characterized in that the bead (1 a) connects the two bolts (2a, 2b) together.

3. Lock holder according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the reinforcement plate (3) is T-shaped in plan view with a T-bridge (3a) connecting the two bolts (2a, 2b) and a front T-leg (3b).

4. Lock holder according to claim 3, characterized in that the T-bridge (3a) and the T-leg (3b) have a total length which corresponds to that of the bead (1a) at most.

5. Lock holder according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the front T-leg (3b) has two arms (5) that overlap the bead (1a) on the base plate (1).

6. Lock holder according to claim 5, characterized in that the two arms (5) are each formed at an angle in front view with a plate web (5a) connected to the reinforcement plate (3) and a bead web (5b) adapted to a material thickness (S) of the bead (1a) and connected at an angle to the plate web (5a).

7. Lock holder according to claim 6, characterized in that the bead web (5b) is connected at a right angle to the plate web (5a).

8. Lock holder according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the two bead webs (5b) have a distance to each other adapted to a width (B) of the bead (1a).

9. Lock holder according to one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the two bead webs (5b) and the bead (1a) are each axially symmetrical in relation to a plane of symmetry (A) passing through the two bolts (2a, 2b) of the shackle (2).

10. Lock holder according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the two bolts (2a, 2b) of the shackle (2) with attached reinforcing plate (3) are anchored in corresponding shackle openings of the base plate (1), for example riveted and / or welded.

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