Automobile lock, in particular, lock for automobile door
A separate retaining plate provides axial and radial guidance for vehicle locks, addressing production cost and noise issues by ensuring synchronized, low-force operation.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2025501351
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-07-13
- Filing Date
- 2023-06-23
- Publication Date
- 2025-07-10
AI Technical Summary
Existing vehicle locks face challenges in maintaining accurate axial and radial guidance of the latch element while keeping production costs low, with integrated guide extensions leading to increased costs and potential noise during operation.
The guide element is designed as a separate retaining plate that overlaps the latch element parallel to the lock mechanism plane, providing axial and radial guidance without integration, and is rotatably mounted on the rotary latch's bearing pin, ensuring synchronized movement with the latch.
This design allows for low-noise and low-force operation of the locking mechanism, maintaining guidance accuracy over the vehicle's lifespan while reducing production costs.
Smart Images
Figure 2025522043000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to locks for motor vehicles, in particular to locks for motor vehicle doors. A motor vehicle lock substantially comprises a lock mechanism consisting of a rotary latch and a pawl as lock mechanism components, a latch element disposed within an engagement region between the two components of the lock mechanism and pivotally mounted on the rotary latch or the pawl for most of the plane of the lock mechanism straddling the two lock mechanism components, and at least one guide element for additional axial and / or radial guidance of the latch element.
[0002] A motor vehicle lock is a lock inside or on a motor vehicle, for example, a lock for a motor vehicle door, but also includes a lock for a motor vehicle hood, a lock for a motor vehicle rear door, a lock for a motor vehicle fuel tank, a lock for a seat lock mechanism, a lock mechanism for a charging port, etc. Due to acoustic optimization that has been carried out inside and on motor vehicles over the years, increasingly high demands are being placed on the noise behavior of motor vehicle locks. At the same time, emphasis is also placed on improving comfort. The engagement region between the rotary latch and the pawl as the two lock mechanism components has a decisive influence on the acoustics during operation, as well as on the haptics and comfort. In principle, it is also possible to use one rotary latch and a pivotable latch element facing the pawl. In this case, a rolling lock mechanism is considered, which includes the engagement region between the rolling latch element and the pawl, or the engagement region between the pawl and the rotary latch, or both engagement regions.
[0003] In the general prior art according to WO 2020 / 083435 A1, the latch element is equipped with a guide extension protruding with respect to the plane of the lock mechanism in order to provide additional axial and / or radial guidance of the latch element. Thereby, the inclination of the latch element is prevented.
[0004] In the comparative example of the prior art according to Patent Document 2472651 A1, the guide element is realized in the form of a spring. However, such a guide element provides a guiding state that changes under specific circumstances and cannot guarantee the accurate axial and / or radial guidance of the latch element under all circumstances and over the entire service life of the vehicle lock.
[0005] The first-mentioned comprehensive prior art according to WO2020 / 083435A1 is basically proven in itself. However, the guide extension is generally implemented integrally with the latch element, for example, as an embossing. In certain circumstances, this leads to an increase in production costs. The present invention generally aims to improve this.
Summary of the Invention
[0006] Based on the technical problem of further developing such a vehicle lock, especially a vehicle door lock, in such a way that the production costs are reduced while maintaining the additional axial and / or radial guidance of the latch element realized with the help of the guide element.
[0007] To solve this technical problem, in a general vehicle lock, especially a vehicle door lock, the present invention proposes that the guide element is designed as a retaining plate that laterally overlaps the latch element and is widely oriented parallel to the plane of the locking mechanism.
[0008] In the context of the present invention, first, the procedure is such that the guide element is designed separately and independently from the latch element, and as a result, in contrast to the general prior art according to WO2020 / 083435A1, it is no longer an integrated part of the guide element. Rather, on the one hand, the guide element and, on the other hand, the retaining plate are designed separately from each other and are thus manufactured independently of each other.
[0009] At the same time, in the same way as before and in an unchanged manner, the retaining plate ensures sufficient axial and / or radial guidance of the latch element. This is because the retaining plate extends widely parallel to the plane of the locking mechanism, and as a result, it is mainly arranged within a plane extending parallel to the locking plane. This plane can be placed above or below the plane of the locking mechanism straddling the two locking mechanism components. As a result, the retaining plate can laterally overlap the latch element. This lateral overlap of the latch element by the retaining plate means that the latch element is guided axially and / or radially as desired, and the inclination of the latch element is avoided as in the general prior art according to WO2020 / 083435A1. As a result, in the vehicle lock according to the invention, an operation or corresponding actuation of the locking mechanism with particularly low force and almost no noise is still possible and unchanged.
[0010] According to an advantageous embodiment, the retaining plate is designed as a rotatably mounted retaining plate lever. That is, the retaining plate lever is rotatably mounted about a rotation axis. It has proven to be particularly useful when the rotation axis of the retaining plate lever in question coincides with the rotation axis of the associated locking mechanism component. As a result, the production of the vehicle lock according to the invention is particularly simple and intuitive.
[0011] This is because it is common to rotatably mount the retaining plate lever on the bearing pin of the rotary latch. This means that in any case, the bearing pin implemented and provided for the rotary latch is used simultaneously as the bearing pin or bearing bolt for the retaining plate lever additionally provided by the invention. For this purpose, the bearing pin in question is usually connected to the lock plate.
[0012] A retaining plate lever, or generally a retaining plate for guiding a latch element axially and / or radially, is non-rotatably coupled to the rotary latch in general such that it can perform its desired function and taking into account all movements of the rotary latch during the functional operation of the locking mechanism. This means that since the retaining plate lever is non-rotatably coupled to the rotary latch and on the other hand is mounted coaxially with the rotary latch on a common bearing pin of the rotary latch, as soon as the rotary latch performs a pivoting movement about its bearing pin, the retaining plate lever synchronously follows the rotary latch.
[0013] The retaining plate lever usually has a guide pin extending through a drive opening of the rotary latch so that the retaining plate lever can follow the rotary latch during its rotational movement and a non-rotational connection with the rotary latch is achieved. This automatically ensures that the retaining plate lever can follow the rotary latch in synchronism with the pivoting movement about the bearing pin.
[0014] In addition, this procedure is usually such that the latch element engages with a guide pin within a recess of the rotary latch. Thus, the guide pin functions to restrict the movement of the latch element. The recess in question for accommodating the guide pin of the latch element usually has a more or less radial extent compared to the axis of rotation and thus the bearing pin of the rotary latch. This means that the latch element can be rotated or pivoted within the recess of the rotary latch and moved in tandem with the claw part.
[0015] As a further special feature, the present invention recommends that the guide pin of the latch element in question extends through the guide opening of the retaining plate lever at the same time. As a result, additional guidance of the latch element in a part of the retaining plate lever is obtained. This guidance is ensured both axially and radially since the pivot pin of the latch element extends through the guide opening of the retaining plate lever.
[0016] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the retaining plate lever is arranged on the locking plate side of the associated locking mechanism component. In a specific embodiment, this means that the rotary latch is mounted on the locking plate via the retaining plate lever, and the retaining plate lever carries and fixes the bearing pin for the rotary latch and the retaining plate lever. The present invention is based on the discovery that the inclination of the latch element controlled with the aid of the retaining plate lever occurs mainly in the direction of a level below the plane of the locking mechanism and is actually observed. In principle, it is of course also possible according to the present invention to cooperate with a retaining plate lever arranged on the surface side of the locking mechanism component, i.e. in a specific embodiment, it covers the rotary latch on its upper side. In addition, of course, within the scope of the present invention, there are embodiments in which two retaining plate levers are provided and the associated locking mechanism component or the rotary latch is received between them.
[0017] A particularly flexible embodiment is characterized in that the retaining plate lever is made entirely or partly of plastic. As a result, the retaining plate lever can be arbitrarily adapted to the respective operating conditions and also to the shape and design of the associated locking mechanism component. In addition, this design takes into account the fact that any force applied by the latch element on the retaining plate lever can in principle also be absorbed by the plastic component. In principle, the retaining plate lever can also be manufactured as a sandwich component made of a plastic material and metal.
[0018] As a result, an automotive lock, in particular a lock for an automotive door, which can operate the locking mechanism with little noise and little force, becomes available. This can essentially be traced back to the latch element which is generally pivotally mounted on the rotary latch.
[0019] According to the present invention, the latch element is prevented from shifting axially and / or radially by the holding plate lever or a holding plate added thereto. As a result, functionally appropriate operation is also possible over a long time scale. This is an essential advantage here.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0020] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings showing only one exemplary embodiment.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
[0021] Detailed Description of the Invention
[0022] The drawings show an automotive lock not limited to a lock for an automotive door. For this purpose, the automotive lock according to the present invention has locking mechanisms 1 and 2 substantially consisting of a rotary latch 1 and a claw part 2 as two locking mechanism components 1 and 2. The two locking mechanism components 1 and 2 straddle the locking mechanism plane E. In addition, a latch element 3 is mounted in the engagement region between the two locking mechanism components 1 and 2. In this embodiment, the latch element 3 is rotatably mounted on the rotary latch 1. For this reason, the latch element 3 has a guide pin 3a that engages with the recess 1a of the rotary latch 1 (see FIG. 2).
[0023] According to the present invention, at least one guide element 4 is additionally mounted, whereby the latch element 3 is guided axially and / or radially. The guide element 4 is a holding plate that laterally overlaps the latch element 3 and is oriented widely parallel to the plane of the locking mechanism, and is designed as the holding plate lever 4 according to this embodiment.
[0024] In particular, comparing FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, it can be seen that the holding plate lever 4 is rotatably mounted, in particular, on the locking plate 5. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the bearing pin 6 fixed to the locking plate 5 is used not only for the rotatable mounting of the holding plate lever 4 but also for the rotatable mounting of the rotary latch 1. This means that the rotation axes of the locking mechanism components 1 and 2 relevant here, that is, the rotation axis of the rotary latch 1 and the rotation axis of the holding plate lever 4, coincide within the scope of the present invention and are actually defined by a common bearing pin 6 connected to the locking plate 5.
[0025] The holding plate lever 4 is non-rotatably connected to the rotary latch 1. For this reason, a guide pin 4a is provided on the holding plate lever 4. The holding plate lever 4 is engaged with the drive opening 1b of the rotary latch 1 via the guide pin 4a. FIG. 2 shows that the drive opening 1b of the guide pin 4a of the holding plate lever 4 in the rotary latch 1 is arranged radially inward of the bearing pin 6 that defines the rotation axis of the rotary latch 1. In contrast, the recess 1a of the guide pin 3a of the latch element 3 in the rotary latch 1 is located radially outside the bearing pin 6 that defines the rotation axis. Also, particularly with respect to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the recess 1a of the rotary latch 1 with respect to the guide pin 3a of the latch element 3 has a radial axial spread with respect to the bearing pin 6 or the rotation axis of the rotary latch 1.
[0026] In this way, the latch element 3 can pivot its pivoting part within the rotary latch 1, but is radially restricted within the recess 1a compared to the rotation axis of the rotary latch 1 or its bearing pin 6 with the help of the guide pin 3a.
[0027] As described above, the holding plate lever 4 is non-rotatably connected to the rotary latch 1 because it engages with the drive opening 1b of the rotary latch 1 via the guide pin 4a or extends through the drive opening 1b of the rotary latch 1. Also, it can be seen that the guide pin 3a of the latch element 3 not only engages with the recess 1a of the rotary latch 1 but also extends through the guide opening 4b of the holding plate lever 4. As a result, the latch element 4 is fixed and guided in the desired axial and radial directions. This is because the guide pin 3a of the latch element 3 engages with the guide opening 4b of the holding plate lever 4 or extends through this guide opening 4b, and as a result, the latch element 3 is guided radially. As can be understood in particular by comparing FIGS. 1 and 3, in each case, due to the holding plate lever 4 overlapping the latch element 3 in question, additional axial guidance of the latch element 3 is also provided. For this purpose, the holding plate lever 4 is oriented in a plane parallel to the plane of the locking mechanism.
[0028] In addition, the holding plate lever 4 is designed to be arranged on the locking mechanism components 1, 2, specifically on the locking plate side of the rotary latch 1. This means that the two locking mechanism components 1, 2, or the rotary latch 1 and the claw part 2 first come together to define the plane of the locking mechanism E. According to the present invention, the holding plate lever 4 is arranged and oriented parallel to the plane of the locking mechanism E and below this plane of the locking mechanism E, and contacts the locking plate 5, that is, is actually placed on the locking plate side of the rotary latch 1. However, in principle, the holding plate lever 4 can also overlap the rotary latch 1 on its upper side. In addition, although not shown, within the scope of the present invention, there is also a mode in which the rotary latch 1 is clamped by two holding plate levers 4.
[0029] The retaining plate lever 4 can be made entirely or partially of a plastic material. According to this embodiment, the retaining plate lever 4 is a molded plastic part, which is lightweight on the one hand and, on the other hand, can generally be adapted without problems to the specific structure of the rotary latch 1 or the locking mechanism components 1, 2. In addition, such a molded plastic part can absorb the forces acting on them from the latch element 3 with little noise. In principle, it is also within the scope of the present invention for the retaining plate lever 4 to have a sandwich structure, for example, it can be made of a composite metal plate and a plastic plate.
[0030] The mode of operation is as follows. Referring to FIG. 2, when the locking mechanism 1, 2 of this embodiment is released, the rotary latch 1 performs a pivoting movement counterclockwise as shown around the rotation axis of the bearing pin 6, and a locking bolt (not shown) is released by the rotary latch 1. To release the locking mechanism 1, 2, the claw portion 2 in the figure according to FIG. 2 is also pivoted counterclockwise as shown there. In this connection, the latch element 3 ensures that the rotary latch 1 and the claw portion 2 can rotate relative to each other with particularly small forces and noise due to the intervention of the pivoted latch element 3 here. At the same time, the retaining plate lever 4 ensures that the inclination of the latch element 3 is avoided during this process.
Explanation of Signs
[0031] Locking mechanism 1, 2, Rotary latch 1, Recess 1a, Drive opening 1b, Claw portion 2, Latch element 3, Guide pin 3a, Retaining plate lever 4, Latch element 4, Guide pin 4a, Guide opening 4b, Locking plate 5, Bearing pin 6.
Claims
1. An automotive lock, in particular a lock for an automotive door, comprising: a locking mechanism (1, 2) substantially consisting of a rotary latch (1) and a pawl (2) as locking mechanism components (1, 2); a latch element (3) disposed in an engagement region between the two locking mechanism components (1, 2) and pivotally mounted on the rotary latch (1) or the pawl (2) over a majority of the plane of the locking mechanism (E) across the two locking mechanism components (1, 2); and at least one guide element (4) for additional axial and / or radial guidance of the locking element (3). The automotive lock is characterized in that the guide element (4) overlaps the latch element (3) laterally and is designed as a retaining plate widely parallel to the plane of the locking mechanism (E).
2. The automotive lock according to claim 1, characterized in that the retaining plate is designed as a pivotally mounted retaining plate lever (4).
3. The automotive lock according to claim 2, characterized in that the axis of rotation of the retaining plate lever (4) coincides with the axis of rotation of the locking mechanism components (1, 2).
4. The automotive lock according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the retaining plate lever (4) is pivotally mounted on a bearing pin (6) of the rotary latch (1).
5. The automotive lock according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the retaining plate lever (4) is non-rotatably connected to the rotary latch (1).
6. The automotive lock according to claim 5, characterized in that the retaining plate lever (4) extends through a drive opening (1b) of the rotary latch (1) by means of a guide pin (4a).
7. The automotive lock according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the latch element (3) engages with a guide pin (3a) within a recess (1a) of the rotary latch (1).
8. The automotive lock according to claim 7, characterized in that the guide pin (3a) extends through a guide opening (4b) of the retaining plate lever (4).
9. The automotive lock according to any one of claims 3 to 8, characterized in that the retaining plate lever (4) is disposed on the lock plate side of the locking mechanism components (1, 2).
10. The vehicle lock according to any one of claims 3 to 9, characterized in that all or part of the holding plate lever (4) is made of a plastic material.