Vehicle door latch and associated vehicle

Abstract

The present invention refers to a vehicle door latch (1) comprising an engagement mechanism (3) configured for engaging with a striker, the said engagement mechanism (3) comprising: - a claw (32) comprising a recess (32b) and configured for rotating between an opened position allowing the insertion of the striker within the recess (32b) of the claw (32) and the removal of the striker from the recess (32b) of the claw (32) and a closed position wherein the striker is retained within the recess (32b) of the claw (32), - a deformable element (34) configured for interacting with the claw (32) when the claw (32) is rotated from the opened position to the closed position to provide a resistant force to the rotation of the claw (32) wherein the deformable element (34) is configured to undergo an elastic and a plastic deformation upon interaction with the claw (32) so that the resistant force applied by the deformable element (34) to the claw (32) decreases after a predetermined number of closings of the vehicle door latch (1).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of vehicle door latches to ensure the closing of vehicle doors.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Such vehicle door latches comprise an engagement mechanism configured for engaging with a striker assembled to the car body.

[0003] Due to the different manufacturing and assembly tolerances, the position of the striker with respect to the engagement mechanism has to be adjusted when assembled to the car body. To achieve this adjustment, the car manufacturer may use a floating striker, the position of which can be adjusted of a few millimeters after assembly of the striker on the car body. The fine adjustment is then achieved by closing the door so that the striker is displaced in the right position upon action of the engagement mechanism.

[0004] Indeed, the engagement mechanism comprises a claw providing a recess which is configured to receive the striker in the opened position of the latch. The recess may have a convergent shape from its entrance towards its bottom so that the striker is guided toward the bottom of the recess. When the door is closed, the claw is rotated towards its closing position wherein the striker is retained. However, in order for the claw to apply a force high enough to allow the position adjustment of the striker, a resistant force has to be applied on the claw to limit its rotation. Such a resistant force may be applied by a damper acting on the claw to make the rotation of the claw harder, a higher force is thus required to rotate the claw.

[0005] But, if the vehicle is equipped with a closing electrical assistance, it means that this additional force will also have to be overcome by the closing electrical actuator so that the closing electrical actuator will have to be oversized to prevent a fast ageing. Such oversized actuator implies a higher cost, a higher bulk and a higher energy consumption.

[0006] It is therefore a goal of the present invention to provide a vehicle door latch equipment enabling the adjustment of the striker position at the first closure without requiring an oversized actuator to provide closing electrical assistance.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The present invention refers to a vehicle door latch comprising an engagement mechanism configured for engaging with a striker, the said engagement mechanism comprising: a claw comprising a recess and configured for rotating between an opened position allowing the insertion of the striker within the recess of the claw and the removal of the striker from the recess of the claw and a closed position wherein the striker is retained within the recess of the claw, a deformable element configured for interacting with the claw when the claw is rotated from the opened position to the closed position to provide a resistant force to the rotation of the claw wherein the deformable element is configured to undergo an elastic and a plastic deformation upon interaction with the claw so that the resistant force applied by the deformable element to the claw decreases after a predetermined number of closings of the vehicle door latch.

[0008] According to another aspect of the present invention, the deformable element is made of plastic material, notably of thermoplastic.

[0009] According to another aspect of the present invention, the deformable element is made of polyoxymethylene "POM".

[0010] According to another aspect of the present invention, the deformable element is a curved arm with an extremity configured for interacting with the claw.

[0011] According to another aspect of the present invention, the vehicle door latch comprises an electrical mechanism to assist the closure of the door.

[0012] The present invention also refers to a vehicle comprising a vehicle door latch as described above and a striker configured to be set to a vehicle body wherein the striker is a floating striker configured to be pre-set to be displaced over a few millimeters upon closing of the door.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG.1 is a perspective view of a vehicle door latch according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.2 is a perspective view of a vehicle door latch according to an embodiment of the present invention in an initial opened position; FIG.3 is a perspective view of a vehicle door latch according to an embodiment of the present invention in a closed position; FIG.4 is a perspective view of a vehicle door latch according to an embodiment of the present invention in an opened position after a few closures; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The following achievements are examples. Although, the specification refers to one or several embodiments, it does not imply that each reference refers to the same embodiment or that the features apply only to a single embodiment. Simple features of different embodiments can also be combined to provide other embodiments.

[0015] The present invention refers to a vehicle door latch 1 configured to ensure the closing of a vehicle door, in particular a side door or a trunk lid.

[0016] Fig.1 represents an example of such vehicle door latch 1.

[0017] The vehicle door latch 1 comprises an engagement mechanism 3 configured for engaging with a striker (not represented). The striker is arranged on the vehicle body next to the vehicle door and is configured to be introduced into a recess 31 of the vehicle door latch 1 when the vehicle door is closed. The striker may be a floating striker configured to be pre-set to the vehicle body and to be displaced over a few millimeters upon closing of the door in order to fine position the striker with respect to the engagement mechanism 3.

[0018] The engagement mechanism 3 comprises a claw 32 arranged at least partially in the recess 31 and configured to move between a closed position (as represented in Fig.1) wherein the striker is retained within the recess 31 by the claw 32 and an opened position (represented in Fig.2) wherein the striker may be introduced within a recess 32b of the claw 32 through the recess 31 for engaging with the engagement mechanism 3. In this opened position, the striker may also be removed from the center of the claw 32 to disengage from the engagement mechanism 3. The engagement mechanism 3 also comprises a pawl 33 configured to rotate between a blocking position (represented in Fig.1) wherein the pawl 33 blocks the rotation of the claw 32 so that the striker is retained by the claw 32 and a release position (represented in Fig.2) wherein the pawl 33 enables the rotation of the claw 32 and therefore the release of the striker to open the door (an elastic element such as a return spring may be configured to rotate the claw 32 towards its opened position).

[0019] As represented in Fig.2, the engagement mechanism 3 also comprises a deformable element 34 configured for interacting with the claw 32 when the claw 32 is rotated from the opened position to the closed position. In the present case, the deformable element 34 is a deformable curved arm 34 and the claw 32 comprises a protuberance 32a configured to come into contact with an extremity of the deformable curved arm 34 when the claw 32 is rotated towards the closed position as represented in Fig.3. The deformable arm 34 may be made of plastic material and in particular of thermoplastic material. In a particular embodiment, the deformable arm may be made of polyoxymethylene (POM). Other material providing a plastic deformation may also be used. The shape and size of the deformable element 34 may be selected according to the desired resistant force that has to be applied on the claw 32. Thus, the deformable arm 34 provides a resistant force against the rotation of the claw 32 when the claw 32 comes into contact with the deformable arm 34. The deformable element 34 is configured to undergo an elastic and a plastic deformation upon interaction with the claw so that the resistant force applied by the deformable element to the claw decreases after a predetermined number of closings of the vehicle door latch 1 due to the plastic deformation of the deformable arm 34. Fig.4 shows the deformable arm 34 after a few closures. The position of the deformable arm 34 is shifted with respect to its initial position (represented in Fig.2) on the side opposite to the contact side with the protuberance 32a. The predetermined number of closings may be in a range from 1 to 100. The vehicle door latch 1 may comprises a stop 35 to limit the deformation of the deformable arm 34. The stop 35 may be made by the casing of the vehicle door latch 1. In practice, the resistant force may decrease after each closing due to the plastic deformation that shifts the position of the deformable arm 34 at each closure until the resistant force becomes almost negligible or until the shifting position of the deformable arm be limited by the stop 35.

[0020] Thus, at the first closure of the vehicle door latch 1, the deformable arm 34 may provide a resistant force high enough to enable the fine positioning of the striker with respect to the engagement mechanism 3 and this resistant force may then decrease after each closure so that after a few closures or tens of closures, the resistant force becomes very limited so that the force required to close the vehicle door latch 1 is almost identical to the force required without the presence of a deformable arm 34. As a consequence, if the vehicle door latch 1 comprises an electrical mechanism (not represented) to assist the closure of the door, such electrical mechanism will only have to provide additional force to overcome the resistant force of the deformable arm 34 during a few closures before the resistant force provided by the deformable arm 34 becomes negligible so that no fast ageing of the electrical closing actuator will be observed.

[0021] The present invention also refers to a vehicle comprising a vehicle door latch 1 as described previously and a striker configured to be set or pre-set to the vehicle body in front of the vehicle door latch 1. The handle may be an inner handle. The vehicle door may also comprise an outer handle linked mechanically to the vehicle door latch 1, for example by a rod or a Bowden cable.

Claims

1. Vehicle door latch (1) comprising an engagement mechanism (3) configured for engaging with a striker, the said engagement mechanism (3) comprising: - a claw (32) comprising a recess (32b) and configured for rotating between an opened position allowing the insertion of the striker within the recess (32b) of the claw (32) and the removal of the striker from the recess (32b) of the claw (32) and a closed position wherein the striker is retained within the recess (32b) of the claw (32), - a deformable element (34) configured for interacting with the claw (32) when the claw (32) is rotated from the opened position to the closed position to provide a resistant force to the rotation of the claw (32) wherein the deformable element (34) is configured to undergo an elastic and a plastic deformation upon interaction with the claw (32) so that the resistant force applied by the deformable element (34) to the claw (32) decreases after a predetermined number of closings of the vehicle door latch (1).

2. Vehicle door latch (1) in accordance with the previous claim wherein the deformable element (42) is made of plastic material, notably of thermoplastic.

3. Vehicle door latch (1) in accordance with the previous claim wherein the deformable element (34) is made of polyoxymethylene "POM".

4. Vehicle door latch (1) in accordance with one of the previous claims wherein the deformable element (34) is a curved arm with an extremity configured for interacting with the claw (32).

5. Vehicle door latch (1) in accordance with one of the previous claims wherein the vehicle door latch comprises an electrical mechanism to assist the closure of the door.

6. Vehicle comprising a vehicle door latch (1) in accordance with one of the previous claims and a striker configured to be set to a vehicle body wherein the striker is a floating striker configured to be pre-set to be displaced over a few millimeters upon closing of the door.

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