Automotive latch

Abstract

This disclosure relates to an automotive latch, the automotive latch comprising a housing (10), a locking mechanism (1) and an electric drive unit (2) housed within the housing (10), the locking mechanism comprising a catch portion (11) and a claw portion (12), the electric drive unit (2) comprising a motor (21) and an integrated output component (22), the output component (22) comprising an output gear (221), a cam (222) and an integrally formed shaft (223), the shaft (223) being rotatably supported within the housing (10), the motor (21) driving the output gear (221) to rotate the cam (222), the movement of the cam (222) being transmitted to the claw portion (12) to unlock the locking mechanism (1). The design of the automotive latch of this disclosure significantly reduces the number of components and the space occupied by the components, thereby reducing the overall external dimensions and assembly complexity of the automotive latch, as well as improving the operational reliability of the mechanism.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a latch for an automobile, and more particularly to a small-sized latch for a rear door of an automobile including an electric drive device.

Background Art

[0002] With the development of the automobile industry, vehicle owners' demand for high-performance automobile latches has been increasing, and electric drive latches such as electric rear door latches are being used more and more widely.

[0003] However, conventional automobile latches have too many components, resulting in a complex latch structure and high costs. Furthermore, conventional automobile latches occupy a lot of space, the mechanism is not sufficiently compact, and the overall external dimensions of the automobile latch often do not meet the customers' requirements for the installation space of the vehicle body.

[0004] Summary

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to solve at least one of the above problems and / or other problems in the prior art.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an automobile latch is provided. The automobile latch includes a housing, a locking mechanism and an electric drive device accommodated in the housing. The locking mechanism includes a catch portion and a claw portion. The electric drive device includes a motor and an integrated output component. The output component includes an output gear, a cam and a shaft integrally formed. The shaft is rotatably supported in the housing. The motor drives the output gear to rotate the cam, and the movement of the cam is transmitted to the claw portion to release the locking mechanism.

[0007] In this solution, the output gear, cam, and shaft are integrally formed. This reduces the number of components and the complexity of assembly, improves the operational reliability of the components, and further reduces the space occupied by the components, resulting in a smaller external dimension for the automotive latch. The entire automotive rear door latch achieves all the functions of a conventional rear door latch while having fewer components and smaller external dimensions.

[0008] According to one embodiment, the output component further includes a stopper integrally formed with the output gear, and the housing is provided with a blocking component, which cooperates with the stopper to function as the rotational travel end of the output gear.

[0009] In this exemplary solution, the stopper that interrupts the rotation of the output gear and defines the rotational end of the output gear is integrally formed with the output gear, eliminating the need for a separate stopper, thereby reducing the number of components and improving the operational reliability of the automotive latch.

[0010] In one embodiment, the automotive latch further includes a first bumper supported on a stopper, and a blocking component is adapted to abut against the first bumper and function as the rotational end of an output gear. In this embodiment, the output gear is cushioned by the first bumper. This reduces the impact and noise that would occur if the stopper on the output gear were to collide directly with the blocking component on the housing.

[0011] In one embodiment, the blocking component is integrally formed with the housing. This structure further reduces the number of components in the automotive latch, reduces assembly complexity, and improves the operational reliability of the automotive latch components.

[0012] In one embodiment, the output gear is further integrally provided with a retaining portion for holding the first bumper. This structure ensures that the first bumper is securely held on the output gear while minimizing the number of additional components.

[0013] In one embodiment, a retaining portion for holding the first bumper is formed on one side of the output gear, and a stopper is formed on the other side of the output gear. In this embodiment, the positioning of the components is optimized based on the idea of ​​reducing the total space occupied by the components.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the housing includes a first housing portion and a second housing portion detachably connected to the first housing portion. The first and second housing portions are each provided with integrally formed bearing portions that rotatably support the shaft. The bearing portions are integrally formed with the housing. This eliminates the need for a separate bearing seat, further reducing the number of components in the automotive latch and reducing the complexity of assembly.

[0015] In one embodiment, the automotive latch further includes a spring which acts on the output gear and is positioned to return the output gear after the locking mechanism is released. In this embodiment, the output component is returned with a simple structure.

[0016] In one embodiment, the pawl is configured to be directly actuated by a cam to unlock the locking mechanism. The cam directly actsuates the pawl. This avoids the drawbacks of prior art, such as the complex structure and numerous components resulting from placing a release lever (and other acting levers associated with the release lever) between the cam and the pawl, as well as problems such as operational instability caused by a complex transmission mechanism, and reduces the space occupied by the components.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the above-mentioned automotive latch may be a latch for the rear door of an automobile. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0018] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows a schematic exploded perspective view of an automotive latch according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows a schematic front view of the assembled automotive latch shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of an automotive latch, showing the integrated output components. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows a schematic perspective view of the output components. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of one embodiment of the first housing section, showing the blocking component. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows a schematic perspective view of the first bumper before it is assembled to the output components. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view after the first bumper has been assembled to the output components, showing the positional relationship between the first bumper and the stopper.

[0019] Detailed description of the embodiment

[0020] The following description of the technical solutions of this disclosure will be further elaborated upon by examples, with reference to the drawings. The following description of embodiments of this disclosure with reference to the drawings is intended to illustrate the general concepts of this disclosure and is not intended to limit the disclosure.

[0021] The following detailed description includes numerous specific details for the sake of clarity, to provide a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments of this disclosure. However, it is clear that one or more embodiments can be implemented even without these specific details.

[0022] Specific exemplary embodiments of automotive latches will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 5. The automotive latches described herein are preferably rear door latches, and in these specific embodiments, rear door latches will be used as examples. However, the technical concepts of this disclosure are also applicable to other automotive latches, such as hood latches, fuel tank cap latches, or side door latches. Therefore, the technical term "automotive" latch may be interpreted broadly.

[0023] Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of an automotive latch, showing the housing 10 and the internal components of the latch. Figure 2 shows a schematic front view of the assembled automotive latch. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the automotive latch includes a housing 10. The housing 10 includes a plurality of housing parts such as a first housing part 102, a second housing part 104, and a third housing part 103. The second housing part 104 is provided with an interface component 1041 for providing an electrical connection between the automotive latch and the outside. In addition, the housing 10 may further include a reinforcing housing part 105 for mounting an emergency release lever 3 described later. These housing parts are assembled with each other to form the housing 10 of the automotive latch.

[0024] As shown in Figure 1, a locking mechanism 1 of the automotive latch is provided in the housing 10 and includes a catch part 11 and a claw part 12. The catch part 11 is rotatably supported on the housing 10 by a first pivot shaft 9 provided on the housing 10. The catch part 11 is rotatable between an unlocked position and a locked position and is returned by the action of a spring 7. The catch part 11 is provided with a slot 113 for a lock bolt (not shown) to enter.

[0025] The claw part 12 is rotatably supported on the housing 1 by a second pivot shaft 5. As shown in Figure 1, a first component 121 is provided at the lower end of the claw part 12, and a cooperating part 1211 integrally formed with the first component 121 abuts / engages with a corresponding cooperating part 114 of the catch part 11, thereby preventing the catch part 11 from rotating in the unlocking direction and locking the catch part 11.

[0026] The automotive latch is unlocked by an electric drive unit 2. As an embodiment, the electric drive unit includes a motor 21 and an integrated output component 22, as shown in Figures 1, 3, and 4. The output component 22 includes an integrally formed shaft 223, an output gear 221, and a cam 222, the shaft 223 being rotatably supported within the housing 10. The motor 21 drives the output gear 221 to rotate the cam 222 via a worm 4 mounted on the motor shaft. The claw portion 12 includes the first component 121 described above and a second component 122 adapted to engage with the cam 222. The cam 222 is driven to strike the second component 122 and swing the claw portion 12 until the cooperating portion 1211 disengages from the corresponding cooperating portion 114, thereby unlocking the catch portion 11. The automotive latch further includes a spring 6 for returning the claw portion 12, as shown in Figure 1.

[0027] In the example of the automotive latch described herein, the output gear 221, cam 222, and shaft 223 are integrally formed. This reduces the number of components and the complexity of assembly, improves the operational reliability of the components, and reduces the overall external dimensions of the automotive latch by reducing the space occupied by the components.

[0028] As shown in Figures 1 and 4, the output component 22 further includes a stopper 226 integrally formed with the output gear 221, and a blocking component 1021, shown in Figure 5, integrally formed with the inner wall of the housing 10. The blocking component 1021 works in cooperation with the stopper 226 to function as the rotational end of the output gear 221. Since noise may be generated if the stopper 226 of the output gear 221 directly collides with the blocking component 1021 on the housing 10, a first bumper 224 is further provided. The first bumper 224 is made of, for example, rubber. As shown in Figures 4, 6 and 7, the two legs 2241 of the first bumper 224 each abut against the two outer surfaces of the stopper 226. While the output gear 221 is rotating, the blocking component 1021 of the housing comes into contact with the first bumper 224 to block further rotation of the output gear 221, and at the same time, the first bumper 224 acts as a buffer.

[0029] As shown in Figure 1, the automotive latch further includes a spring 225 for returning the gear 221. The spring 225 may be, for example, a torsion spring and is configured to return the output gear 221 to its initial position after the locking mechanism 1 is unlocked. The automotive latch further includes a second bumper 8 for cushioning the catch portion 11 when the catch portion returns after unlocking.

[0030] As shown in Figure 4, the retaining portion 227 for holding the first bumper 224 is also integrally formed with the output gear 221. The integrally formed retaining portion 227 can securely hold the first bumper 224 on the output gear 221 and can reduce the number of component parts. The structure of the retaining portion may be configured as a flange-like structure extending in the axial direction of the output gear 221, as shown in Figures 4 and 6. In one embodiment, the stopper 226 and the retaining portion 227 may be formed on both sides of the output gear 221, respectively. The cushioning legs 2241 of the first bumper 224 pass through the axial through-hole of the output gear 221 and extend to the two outer surfaces of the stopper 226, respectively. As shown in Figures 6 and 7, each leg 2241 of the first bumper 224 is provided with a stepped surface 2242 that is complementary in shape to the stopper 226, thereby more securely holding the first bumper 224.

[0031] As shown in Figure 3, the bearing portion 100 for rotatably supporting the shaft 223 is integrally formed with the first housing portion 102 and the second housing portion 104, respectively. Since the bearing portion 100 is integrally formed with the housing, the number of component parts is further reduced.

[0032] By integrally forming the output gear 221, cam 222, and shaft 223 in the entire automotive latch, integrally forming the stopper 226 and / or retaining portion 227 with the output gear 221, integrally forming the blocking component 1021 with the housing 10, and integrally forming the bearing portion 100 of the shaft 223 with the housing 10, the number of components of the automotive latch can be significantly reduced. As a result, the entire automotive rear door latch can achieve all the functions of existing rear door latches while having fewer components and smaller external dimensions. For example, the automotive latch of the preferred embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 5 has only 17 components and is smaller in external dimensions than the most similar product.

[0033] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the automotive latch further includes an emergency release lever 3 that is rotatably locked in the housing 10 and extends in part into the housing 10 to engage with the claw portion 12 and actuate the claw portion 12. The emergency release lever 3 is provided to allow the automotive latch to be manually unlocked in an emergency (for example, in the event of a motor control failure). In a specific embodiment, the housing 10 may include a reinforcing housing portion 105 for mounting the emergency release lever 3. This housing portion reinforces the housing 10.

[0034] As described above, the claw portion 12 may directly actuate the cam 222, transmitting the movement of the cam 222 to the claw portion 12. This avoids the drawbacks of the prior art, such as the complex structure and numerous components resulting from the placement of a release lever (and other actuating levers that may be associated with the release lever) between the cam and the claw portion, as well as problems such as unstable operation due to the complex transmission mechanism, and reduces the space occupied by the components. As shown in the specific embodiments and drawings above, the claw portion 12 is directly actuated by the cam 222, and this method has many advantages as described above. However, the automotive latch of this disclosure is not limited to this method, and other transmission mechanisms may be provided between the cam 222 and the claw portion 12 to transmit the movement of the cam 222 to the claw portion, that is, the claw portion 12 may be indirectly actuated by the cam 222.

[0035] While several embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications to these embodiments can be made without departing from the principles and spirit of the general concepts of the present disclosure, and that the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A latch for automobiles, Housing (10) and A locking mechanism (1) is housed within the housing (10) and includes a catch portion (11) and a claw portion (12), An electric drive device (2) housed within the housing (10) and comprising a motor (21) and an integrated output component (22), wherein the output component (22) comprises an output gear (221), a cam (222), and an integrally formed shaft (223), Equipped with, An automotive latch, wherein the shaft (223) is rotatably supported within the housing (10), the motor (21) drives the output gear (221) to rotate the cam (222), and the movement of the cam (222) is transmitted to the claw portion (12) to unlock the locking mechanism (1).

2. The automotive latch according to claim 1, wherein the output component (22) further comprises a stopper (226) integrally formed with the output gear (221), the housing (10) is provided with a blocking component (1021), and the blocking component (1021) cooperates with the stopper (226) to function as the rotational travel end of the output gear (221).

3. The automotive latch according to claim 2, further comprising a first bumper (224) supported on the stopper, wherein the blocking component (1021) is adapted to abut against the first bumper (224) and function as the rotating end of the output gear (221).

4. The automotive latch according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the blocking component (1021) is integrally formed with the housing (10).

5. The automotive latch according to claim 3, wherein the output gear (221) further comprises a retaining portion (227) integrally with the output gear (221) for holding the first bumper (224).

6. The automotive latch according to claim 5, characterized in that the stopper (226) is formed on one side of the output gear (221), and the retaining portion (227) is formed on the other side of the output gear (221).

7. The automotive latch according to any one of claims 1 to 3, 5 to 6, wherein the housing (10) comprises a first housing portion (102) and a second housing portion (104) detachably connected to the first housing portion (102), and the first housing portion (102) and the second housing portion (104) each have bearing portions (100) integrally formed with the first housing portion (102) and the second housing portion (104) for rotatably supporting both ends of the shaft (223).

8. The automotive latch according to any one of claims 1 to 3, 5 to 6, further comprising a spring (225), wherein the spring (225) acts on the output gear (221) and is arranged to return the output gear (221) after the locking mechanism (1) is unlocked.

9. The automotive latch according to any one of claims 1 to 3, 5 to 6, characterized in that the claw portion (12) is configured to be directly actuated by the cam (222) to unlock the locking mechanism (1).

10. The automotive latch according to any one of claims 1 to 3, 5 to 6, characterized in that the automotive latch is a latch for the rear door of an automobile.

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