Latch device for vehicle door

Abstract

A latch device (1) provided to a door side of a vehicle comprises a catch (12) that engages a striker (2) so as to enable rotation in a latching direction toward a fully latched position and rotation in a releasing direction toward an unlatched position, a sector gear (13) that is caused to rotate by an actuator (3), a cinch lever (14) that is connected to the sector gear (13) and that comes into contact with a contact part (125) of the catch (12) to cause the catch to rotate in the latching direction, a pole (15) that restricts rotation of the catch (12) in the releasing direction, and a release lever (16) that releases the restriction by the pole (15) upon contact with the sector gear 13. One of the sector gear (13) and the cinch lever (14) has a groove (132, 143). When the catch (12) and the cinch lever (14) are in irregular positions, one end of the groove (132, 143) is open so that the sector gear (13) comes into contact with the release lever (16) to release the restriction of the catch (12) by the pole (15).

Description

Vehicle door latch device

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle door latch device.

[0002] A vehicle door latch device equipped with a power cinching mechanism that displaces the latch from a half-latched position to a fully-latched position is known (Patent Document 1). The latch device described in this document is attached to the vehicle's back door and has a catch (24), a scintillator (21), and a pawl (25). The catch (24) engages / disengages with a striker (7) provided on the body side, thereby displacing the back door between the half-latched position and the fully-latched position.

[0003] U.S. Patent Publication No. 2021 / 0301562

[0004] In the vehicle door latch device equipped with the above-mentioned conventional power cinching mechanism, a scintillator operated by an actuator rotates the catch in the latch direction, thereby displacing the catch from a half-latched position to a full-latched position, but the scintillator is located behind the catch in the latch direction.

[0005] However, the inventors have confirmed that when the driver closes the door and the door is in the half-latched position, if the driver then opens the door and the catch returns to its pre-half-latched state, the scintillator, which was behind the catch in the half-latched position, ends up in front of the catch. When this irregular state occurs, the scintillator becomes mechanically locked, preventing it from being reset.

[0006] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a vehicle door latch device that can restore the correct positional relationship between the catch and the scintillator even if the positional relationship becomes incorrect.

[0007] The present invention solves the above problem by providing a groove in one of the drive element rotated by an actuator and the scintillator that limits the rotation range of the drive element depending on the rotational position of the scintillator, and by opening one end of this groove so that when the catch is in a position between the full latch position and the unlatch position and the scintillator is positioned forward of the contact portion of the catch in the latch direction of the catch, the drive element contacts the release member and the release member can rotate in the counter-restriction direction.

[0008] According to the present invention, even if the positional relationship between the catch and the scintillator becomes irregular, the drive element can contact the release member and rotate the release member in the counter-restriction direction, so the catch can rotate in the release direction and return to the unlatched position, thereby restoring the positional relationship between the catch and the scintillator to the correct one.

[0009] 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a vehicle door latch device according to the present invention; FIG. 3 is a front view showing an unlatched state of the catch and the pole of FIG. 1 (unlatched position P1 of the catch); FIG. 4 is a front view showing a half-latched state of the catch and the pole of FIG. 1 (half-latched position P2 of the catch); FIG. 5 is a front view showing a fully-latched state of the catch and the pole of FIG. 1 (fully-latched position P3 of the catch); FIG. 6 is a front view showing an unlatched or half-latched state of the sector gear and the scintillator of FIG. 1; FIG. 7 is a front view showing a fully-latched state of the sector gear and the scintillator of FIG. 1 (before the sector gear returns to the neutral position); FIG. 8 is a front view showing a fully-latched state of the sector gear and the scintillator of FIG. 1 (after the sector gear returns to the neutral position); FIG. 9 is a front view showing a release operation of the sector gear and the scintillator of FIG. 1; FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IIIE-IIIE of FIG. 3A; FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the operation of the latch device when closing the door; FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the operation of the latch device when opening the door; FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the latch device, explaining the cause of an irregular positional relationship between the catch and the scintillator. Fig. 9A is an enlarged front view of the sector gear, the scintillator, and the catch shown in the right view of Fig. 6. Fig. 9B is a front view showing the operation of returning from the irregular positional relationship shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 9C is a front view showing the sector gear and the scintillator of another embodiment of the vehicle door latch device according to the present invention. Fig. 9D is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IXB-IXB of Fig. 9A.

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a vehicle door latch device according to the present invention. The vehicle door latch device 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as latch device 1) of this embodiment is applied to various vehicle doors such as a back door, a side door (front side door, rear side door), and a trunk lid. When the vehicle door is closed, it tightly closes the door to keep the interior of the vehicle or the trunk sealed, and when the vehicle door is opened, it leaves the door half-opened to facilitate subsequent opening operations.

[0011] The vehicle door latch device 1 of this embodiment is attached to the vehicle door side, closes the vehicle door by engaging with a striker 2, and opens the vehicle door by releasing it from the striker 2. The striker 2 is fixed to the body side of the vehicle, for example, at a back door opening, a side door opening, or a trunk opening.

[0012] The vehicle door latch device 1 of this embodiment includes a base plate 11, to which a catch 12, a sector gear 13, a scintillator 14, a pawl 15, and a release lever 16 are each rotatably attached. The base plate 11, to which these elements are attached, is fixed to a vehicle door (not shown), such as a back door, using bolts or the like. The striker 2 is formed by bending a solid round steel bar and is fixed to the vehicle body. Only its cross section is shown in FIG. 1. The sector gear 13 is an example of a driving element according to the present invention, and the pawl 15 and release lever 16 are examples of release members according to the present invention.

[0013] The catch 12 is attached to the base plate 11 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis 12C, and is elastically biased in the release direction relative to the base plate 11 by a coil spring (not shown) or the like. The rotational positions of the catch 12 will now be described with reference to Figures 2A to 2C. Figure 2A is a front view showing the unlatched state between the catch 12 and the pawl 15 (unlatched position P1 of the catch 12), Figure 2B is a front view showing the half-latched state between the catch 12 and the pawl 15 (half-latched position P2 of the catch 12), and Figure 2C is a front view showing the fully latched state between the catch 12 and the pawl 15 (fully latched position P3 of the catch 12).

[0014] The catch 12 rotates between an unlatched position P1 in which the striker 2 is released as shown in FIG. 2A and a fully latched position P3 in which the striker 2 is fully gripped as shown in FIG. 2C. Between these positions, the catch 12 passes through a half-latched position P2 in which the striker 2 is half-gripped as shown in FIG. 2B. The rotational direction of the catch 12 toward the fully latched position P3 is referred to as the latching direction, and the rotational direction toward the unlatched position P1 is referred to as the release direction. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2A to 2C, the clockwise rotational direction of the catch 12 is the release direction, and the counterclockwise rotational direction is the latching direction. The terms latching direction and release direction are used not only to refer to the rotational direction of the catch 12 but also to the rotational directions of the sector gear 13, scintillator 14, pawl 15, and release lever 16 that constitute the latch device 1. In other words, the rotational direction in which these elements rotate to latch the latch device 1 is referred to as the latching direction, and the rotational direction in which the latch device 1 releases the latch device 1 is referred to as the release direction.

[0015] The catch 12 is elastically biased in the release direction, i.e., the clockwise direction as shown in Fig. 1, but rotation in the release direction is restricted at the unlatched position P1 as shown in Fig. 2A by a stopper (not shown). That is, the catch 12 is prevented from rotating further in the release direction (clockwise direction) than the unlatched position P1 as shown in Fig. 2A. When the vehicle door is open, the catch 12 waits for engagement with the striker 2 at the unlatched position P1 as shown in Fig. 2A.

[0016] The catch 12 is made of a flat metal or synthetic resin material, and as shown in Fig. 2C , at the full latch position P3, includes a first protrusion 121 that engages with the first recess 151 of the pole 15, a second protrusion 122 that engages with the second recess 152 of the pole 15, and a notch 123 with which the striker 2 engages. As shown in Fig. 2C , when the catch 12 is in the full latch position P3, the first protrusion 121 of the catch 12 engages with the first recess 151 of the pole 15, and the second protrusion 122 of the catch 12 engages with the second recess 152 of the pole 15. As a result, the catch 12 is restrained in the full latch position P3 shown in Fig. 2C against the elastic bias acting in the release direction.

[0017] In addition, as shown in Fig. 2B, the catch 12 includes a first recess 124 that engages with the first protrusion 153 of the pole 15 at the half-latched position P2. As shown in Fig. 2B, when the catch 12 is in the half-latched position P2, the first protrusion 153 of the pole 15 engages with the first recess 124 of the catch 12. This temporarily restrains the catch 12 at the half-latched position P3 shown in Fig. 2B against the elastic bias acting in the release direction. The catch 12 also includes a contact portion 125 that comes into contact with the scintillator 14.

[0018] Returning to Fig. 1, the sector gear 13 and the scintillator 14 are attached to the base plate 11 by the same rotation axis 13C. The sector gear 13 is a gear formed in a fan shape, and is connected to the actuator 3 so that the teeth 131 of the sector gear 13 mesh with the teeth 31 of the actuator 3. The sector gear 13 in this embodiment corresponds to the driving element according to the present invention, but the driving element according to the present invention is not limited to the sector gear 13 as long as it is a member that is rotated by the actuator 3 and acts on the scintillator 14 and the release lever 16 as described below.

[0019] The sector gear 13 also has a curved groove 132 with one open end, through which the pin 141 of the scintillator 14 is inserted (see also the cross-sectional view in FIG. 3E). The position shown in FIG. 1 is the neutral position, and the sector gear 13 is provided so as to be rotatable in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. In FIG. 1, the clockwise rotation direction of the sector gear 13 is the latch direction, and the counterclockwise rotation direction is the release direction.

[0020] Figures 3A to 3E are front views showing the relationship between the sector gear 13 and the scintillator 14, where Figure 3A shows the unlatched or half-latched state, Figure 3B shows the fully latched state before the sector gear 13 returns to the neutral position, Figure 3C is a front view showing the fully latched state after the sector gear 13 has returned to the neutral position, Figure 3D is a front view showing the release operation of the sector gear 13 and the scintillator 14, and Figure 3E is a cross-sectional view along line IIIE-IIIE in Figure 3A.

[0021] 3A, the scintillator 14 is elastically biased in the release direction, i.e., counterclockwise in the figure, relative to the sector gear 13. The scintillator 14 also has a pin 141 that passes through a groove 132 of the sector gear 13, and when no other load is acting on the scintillator 14, it is elastically biased in the release direction and stops at a position where the pin 141 abuts against the right end of the groove 132, restricting further rotation in the release direction.

[0022] Although details will be described later, when the sector gear 13 rotates clockwise (latch direction) from the neutral position shown in Fig. 3A, as shown in Fig. 3B, the scintillator 14, which is provided on the same rotation axis 13C as the sector gear 13, abuts against the right end of the groove 132, and therefore, as the sector gear 13 rotates, the scintillator 14 also rotates clockwise (latch direction) about the rotation axis 13C. This causes the contact portion 142 of the scintillator 14 to abut against the contact portion 125 of the catch 12, causing the catch 12 to rotate from the unlatched position P1 or half-latched position P2 shown in Fig. 2A to the full-latched position P3 shown in Fig. 2B.

[0023] On the other hand, when the catch 12 rotates to the full latch position P3 as shown in Fig. 3C, the first recess 151 of the pole 15 engages with the first protrusion 121 of the catch 12, and the second recess 152 of the pole 15 engages with the second protrusion 122 of the catch 12, as shown in Fig. 2C, and the catch 12 is prevented from rotating in the release direction with the striker gripped by its notch 123. Therefore, the sector gear 13 rotates counterclockwise to return to the neutral position as shown in Fig. 3C, and the scintillator 14 also rotates counterclockwise due to the elastic biasing force as the sector gear 13 rotates counterclockwise.

[0024] When releasing from the fully latched state shown in Fig. 3C, as shown in Fig. 3D, the sector gear 13 rotates counterclockwise from the neutral position and contacts and pushes the first contact portion 161 of the release lever 16. As will be described in detail later, this releases the restriction on rotation of the catch 12 via the release lever 16 and the pole 15, releasing the striker 2. When this sector gear 13 rotates counterclockwise from the neutral position, the scintillator 14, which is elastically biased counterclockwise relative to the sector gear 13, also rotates counterclockwise. However, because the space for the layout of the components of the latch device 1 is limited, it may not be possible to ensure sufficient space to prevent the scintillator 14 from interfering with other components when it rotates counterclockwise.

[0025] Therefore, in the latch device 1 of this embodiment, the groove 132 of the sector gear 13 is formed as a curved elongated hole (one end is open). When the sector gear 13 rotates counterclockwise from the neutral position shown in FIG. 1 , even if the tip of the scintillator 14 abuts against the base plate 11 or the like, the scintillator 14 remains stopped in that position and the sector gear 13 can continue to rotate counterclockwise. Figure 3D shows the sector gear 13 at its counterclockwise limit (counterclockwise end) to release the fully latched state of the catch 12. In this state, the sector gear 13 contacts and pushes the first contact portion 161 of the release lever 16. The range of the curved elongated groove 132 in the figure is the range of the groove required for relative rotation between the sector gear 13 and the scintillator 14 during the release operation of the latch device 1. In the latch device 1 of this embodiment, one end of the elongated groove 132 is open to allow the pin 141 to disengage from the groove 132, as will be described in detail below.

[0026] Returning to FIG. 1 , the pawl 15 is rotatably attached to the base plate 11 around a rotation axis 15C and is elastically biased by a coil spring (not shown) or the like in a direction that restricts rotation of the catch 12 in the release direction relative to the base plate 11. That is, in the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A-2C, the pawl 15 is elastically biased in a counterclockwise direction. The pawl 15 is made of a flat metal or synthetic resin material and, as shown in FIG. 2C , includes a first recess 151 that engages with the first protrusion 121 of the catch 12 at the full latch position P3 and a second recess 152 that engages with the second protrusion 122 of the catch 12. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2B , the pawl 15 includes a first protrusion 153 that engages with the first recess 124 of the catch 12 at the half latch position P2. The pawl 15 also includes a contact portion 154 that contacts the release lever 16.

[0027] 1, the release lever 16 is attached to the base plate 11 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis 16C, and is elastically biased by a coil spring in a direction that allows the pawl 15 to rotate counterclockwise (the restricting direction of the catch 12) relative to the base plate 11. That is, in the example shown in Fig. 1, the release lever 16 is elastically biased in the clockwise direction. The release lever 16 is made of a flat metal or synthetic resin material, and includes a first contact portion 161 that comes into contact with the sector gear 13 during a release operation of the latch device 1, and a second contact portion 162 that comes into contact with the contact portion 154 of the pawl 15.

[0028] The clockwise rotation of the release lever 16 due to the elastic bias is restricted by a stopper pin 163 provided on the base plate 11, preventing further clockwise rotation. In this rotation-limit state, the second contact portion 162 is located to the left of the pawl 15 (forward in the direction of the elastic bias of the pawl 15), as in the fully latched state shown in FIG. 2C . That is, it is positioned so as not to interfere with the counterclockwise rotation of the pawl 15 to restrain the catch 12 at the fully latched position P3. When the first contact portion 161 is pressed by the sector gear 13, the release lever 16 rotates counterclockwise against the elastic bias, and the second contact portion 162 shown in FIG. 2C pushes the contact portion 154 of the pawl 15 to the right in the figure, thereby releasing the restraint of the catch 12 by the pawl 15.

[0029] In this embodiment, the release member that restrains or releases the catch 12 at the full latch position P3 is composed of two members, the pole 15 and the release lever 16, but the release member according to the present invention may be composed of a single member or may be composed of three or more members.

[0030] The vehicle door latch device 1 of this embodiment further includes a sensor 4 that detects the half-latched position P2 of the catch 12, and a controller 5 that drives and controls the actuator 3 based on a detection signal from the sensor 4 and a release signal from the door open switch.

[0031] The type of sensor 4 is not particularly limited as long as it can detect that the catch 12 is in the half-latched position P2, and various sensors such as a proximity switch, a rotary encoder, a limit switch, etc. The sensor 4 notifies the driver that the catch 12 is in the half-latched position P2, and warns the driver not to drive with the door ajar.

[0032] A door open switch (not shown) is provided on the vehicle, for example, near the door hook or around the instrument panel, and when the driver presses the door open switch, a release signal from the door open switch is input to the controller 5. In response to this, the controller 5 controls and drives the actuator 3 to rotate the sector gear 13 in the release direction (counterclockwise direction) and rotate the release lever 16 counterclockwise, thereby releasing the restraint of the catch 12 by the pole 15 and rotating the catch 12 from the full latch position P3 to the half latch position P2 or the unlatched position P1.

[0033] On the other hand, when the door is closed, either automatically or manually by the driver, and the door is closed to a half-open state, the sensor 4 detects that the catch 12 is in the half-latch position P2, and the controller 5 controls the actuator 3 to rotate the sector gear 13 in the latch direction (clockwise), thereby rotating the scintillator 14 in the latch direction and rotating the catch 12 from the half-latch position P2 to the full-latch position P3.

[0034] Next, a description will be given of the operation of closing and opening a door equipped with the vehicle door latch device 1 of this embodiment. Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the operation of closing the door, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the operation of opening the door.

[0035] When the door is closed, it is closed automatically or manually by the driver from an open state until it is in a half-open state. In this half-open state, the catch 12 rotates to the half-latched position P2, and the striker 2 engages near the entrance of the notch 123, as shown in Figure 2B. This half-latched state is shown in the left diagram of Figure 4.

[0036] When the catch 12 rotates from the unlatched position P1 to the half-latched position P2, the sensor 4 detects that the catch 12 is in the half-latched position P2, and the controller 5 controls the actuator 3 to rotate the sector gear 13 in the latching direction (clockwise), thereby rotating the scintillator 14 in the latching direction and rotating the catch 12 from the half-latched position P2 to the fully latched position P3. This state is shown in the center diagram of Figure 4. This results in the fully latched state, and the detection signal from the sensor 4 for the half-latched position P2 of the catch 12 stops, so the door ajar warning light displayed on the instrument panel or the like goes out.

[0037] When the catch 12 rotates to the fully latched position P3, as shown in Fig. 2C, the first recess 151 of the pawl 15 engages with the first protrusion 121 of the catch 12, and the second recess 152 of the pawl 15 engages with the second protrusion 122 of the catch 12, preventing the catch 12 from rotating in the release direction while gripping the striker in its notch 123. As a result, the sector gear 13 rotates counterclockwise to return to the neutral position, as shown in the right diagram of Fig. 4, and the scintillator 14 also rotates counterclockwise due to its elastic bias as the sector gear 13 rotates counterclockwise. This completes the door closing operation.

[0038] On the other hand, when opening a door, the driver presses a door open switch provided on the vehicle. When the door open switch is pressed, a release signal from the door open switch is input to the controller 5, and the controller 5 controls the actuator 3 to rotate the sector gear 13, which is in the neutral position, in the release direction (counterclockwise). This state is shown in the left diagram of Figure 5.

[0039] As shown in the figure, when the sector gear 13 rotates counterclockwise, it contacts the first contact portion 161 of the release lever 16. This causes the release lever 16 to rotate counterclockwise, and the second contact portion 162 at one end of the release lever 16 contacts and pushes the contact portion 154 of the pawl 15. This causes the pawl 15 to rotate clockwise. This state is shown in the right diagram of FIG. 5. When the pawl 15 rotates clockwise, the first recess 151 of the pawl 15 disengages from the first protrusion 121 of the catch 12, and the second recess 152 of the pawl 15 disengages from the second protrusion 122 of the catch 12. This releases the catch 12 from its restriction of rotation in the release direction. The catch 12 then rotates in the release direction due to its elastic bias, rotating from the fully latched position P3 to the half-latched position P2. The door can then be opened automatically or manually by the driver.

[0040] Next, we will explain the phenomenon in which the positional relationship between the catch 12 and the scintillator 14 becomes irregular in the latch device 1 of this embodiment described above. Figure 6 is a perspective view of the latch device explaining the cause of the irregular positional relationship between the catch 12 and the scintillator 14, Figure 7 is an enlarged front view of the sector gear 13, scintillator 14, and catch 12 shown on the right in Figure 6, and Figure 8 is a front view showing the operation of returning from the irregular positional relationship shown in Figure 7.

[0041] In the door closing operation shown in Figure 4, when the driver performs an operation to close the door and the door reaches the half-latched position P2, if the driver then performs an operation to open the door and the catch 12 returns to the state before the half-latched position, the inventors have confirmed that the contact portion 142 of the scintillator 14, which was located behind the catch 12 at the half-latched position P2, ends up being located in front of the catch 12. Figure 6 is a perspective view showing this state.

[0042] The left diagram in Figure 6 shows the half-latched state, in which the catch 12 has rotated to the half-latched position P2. This is detected by the sensor 4, and the controller 5 begins to rotate the sector gear 13 in the latching direction (clockwise). However, as shown in the center diagram, if the driver performs an operation to open the door at this time, the striker 2 causes the catch 12 to rotate in the reverse direction, in the release direction. As a result, while in a normal latch operation, as shown in Figure 3B, the contact portion 142 of the scintillator 14 is positioned rearward of the contact portion 145 of the catch 12 in the latching direction of the catch 12, as shown in Figure 7, this becomes an abnormal relationship in which the contact portion 142 of the scintillator 14 is positioned forward of the contact portion 145 of the catch 12 in the latching direction of the catch 12. When this abnormal state occurs, the scintillator 14 becomes mechanically locked, which poses a problem of making it impossible to reset the scintillator 14.

[0043] For this reason, the latch device 1 of this embodiment has the following two measures in place so that even if the latch device 1 is in the incorrect positional relationship shown in Fig. 7, it can be returned to the correct positional relationship by performing a release operation. First, one end of the groove 132 of the sector gear 13 is open so that the sector gear 13 can rotate in the release direction when the driver presses the door open switch, even if the latch device 1 is in the incorrect positional relationship shown in Fig. 7. In other words, the groove 132 of the sector gear 13 is composed of a groove 132 that functions when the catch 12 and the scintillator 14 are in the correct positional relationship, and an open end that functions during a return operation when the latch device 11 is in the incorrect positional relationship.

[0044] 7, the catch 12 either rotates to the full latch position P3 and is held by the pole 15, or remains in the half latch position P2 and is temporarily held by the pole 15. In either case, the rotation of the catch 12 is restricted by the pole 15. Therefore, it is necessary to rotate the sector gear 13 in the release direction (clockwise) to rotate the release lever 16 in the release direction, thereby rotating the pole 15 in the release direction.

[0045] In the latch device 1 of this embodiment, even if the scintillator 14 cannot rotate due to the irregular positional relationship shown in FIG. 7 , by rotating the sector gear 13 in the release direction (clockwise) as shown in FIG. 8 , the pin 141 of the scintillator 14 disengages from the opening at the left end of the groove 132 of the sector gear 13, allowing the sector gear 13 to press the first contact portion 161 of the release lever 16. This causes the catch 12 to return to the unlatched position P1 due to its elastic bias, and the scintillator 14 also rotates counterclockwise due to its elastic bias and returns to its original position. If the door is closed again from this state, the cinching operation is performed in the correct positional relationship. If the left end of the groove 132 of the sector gear 13 were not open, the pin 141 of the scintillator 14 would stop at the left end of the groove 132, preventing the sector gear 13 from rotating further in the release direction.

[0046] The second measure taken to enable the correct positional relationship to be restored by performing the release operation even if the incorrect positional relationship shown in Figure 7 occurs is to provide a stopper 17 on the base plate 11 as shown in Figure 1. As mentioned above, when the sensor 4 detects the half-latched position P2 of the catch 12, a warning display indicating that the door is ajar is displayed to alert the driver. Therefore, if the door ajar display does not go off even after the door is closed, the driver will assume that some kind of abnormality has occurred and will try to open the door again and then tighten it again.

[0047] However, if the positional relationship between the scintillator 14 and the catch 12 is reversed and an incorrect state occurs, as shown in Figure 7, and the vehicle system including the controller 5 does not output a detection signal for the half-latched position P2, the vehicle system will determine that the door is fully latched, and the driver may not notice the incorrect state. Therefore, in the latch device 1 of this embodiment, a stopper 17 is provided on the base plate 11 to restrict rotation of the scintillator 14 in the latching direction so as to prevent the catch 12 from reaching the full-latched position P3 when the contact portion 142 of the scintillator 14 is positioned forward of the contact portion 125 of the catch 12 in the latching direction, as shown in Figure 7. By providing this stopper 17, rotation of the contact portion 125 of the catch 12 in the latching direction is restricted, so the half-latched position P2 is maintained and a warning message for the door being ajar can be displayed to the driver.

[0048] In the above-described embodiment, the groove 132 is formed in the sector gear 13 and the pin 141 is provided in the scintillator 14, but it is also possible to provide a pin in the sector gear 13 and a groove in the scintillator 14. Fig. 9A is a front view showing the sector gear 13 and the scintillator 14 of another embodiment of the vehicle door latch device 1 according to the present invention, and Fig. 9B is a cross-sectional view taken along line IXB-IXB in Fig. 9A. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 9A and 9B, the groove 143 is formed in the scintillator 14 and the pin 133 that engages with this is provided in the sector gear 13, so that the opening of the groove 132 in the above-described embodiment is located at the right end of the groove 143 in this embodiment.

[0049] As described above, the vehicle door latch device 1 of this embodiment is provided on the door side of the vehicle and is elastically biased in the release direction so that it can rotate in the latch direction toward the fully latched position and in the release direction toward the unlatched position, and includes the catch 12 that engages with the striker 2 provided on the body side of the vehicle, the sector gear 13 that rotates by the actuator 3, the scintillator 14 that is connected to the sector gear 13 and comes into contact with the contact portion 125 of the catch 12 on the rear side in the latch direction as the sector gear 13 rotates, rotating the catch in the latch direction, and the scintillator 14 that restricts the rotation of the catch 12 in the release direction. The catch 12 further includes a pawl 15 and a release lever 16 that are elastically biased in the restricting direction and that can rotate in the counter-restricting direction against the elastic bias upon contact with the sector gear 13, and one of the sector gear 13 and the scintillator 14 has grooves 132, 143 that limit the rotation range of the sector gear 13 depending on the rotational position of the scintillator 14, and one end of the grooves 132, 143 is open so that when the catch 12 is in a position between the fully latched position and the unlatched position and the scintillator 14 is located forward of the contact portion 125 of the catch 12 in the latching direction of the catch 12, the sector gear 13 can come into contact with the release lever 16 and rotate the release lever 16 in the counter-restricting direction. As a result, even if the positional relationship between the catch 12 and the scintillator 14 becomes irregular, the sector gear 13 can come into contact with the release lever 16 and rotate the release lever 16 in the counter-restricting direction, so the catch 12 can rotate in the release direction and return to the unlatched position P1. As a result, the catch 12 and the scintillator 14 can be returned to their normal positional relationship.

[0050] Furthermore, the vehicle door latch device 1 of this embodiment further includes a stopper 17 that restricts rotation of the scintillator 14 in the latching direction to prevent the catch 12 from reaching the fully latched position when the scintillator 14 is positioned forward of the contact portion 125 of the catch 12 in the latching direction of the catch 12, so that even if the positional relationship between the catch 12 and the scintillator 14 becomes irregular, the contact portion 125 of the catch 12 is restricted from rotating in the latching direction by the stopper 17 via the scintillator 14. As a result, the catch 12 maintains the half-latched position P2, making it possible to present a warning display to the driver that the door is ajar.

[0051] Furthermore, in the vehicle door latch device 1 of this embodiment, when the grooves 132, 143 engage with the pins 141, 133 provided on the other of the sector gear 13 and the scintillator 14, the catch 12 is in a position between the fully latched position P3 and the unlatched position P1, and the scintillator 14 is forward of the contact portion 125 of the catch 12 in the latching direction of the catch 12, the pins 141, 133 disengage from the open ends of the grooves 132, 143, and the sector gear 13 rotates to a position where it contacts the release lever 16. As a result, even if the positional relationship between the catch 12 and the scintillator 14 becomes irregular, the sector gear 13 contacts the release lever 16 and can rotate the release lever 16 in the counter-restriction direction, so the catch 12 can rotate in the release direction and return to the unlatched position P1. As a result, the catch 12 and the scintillator 14 can be restored to the correct positional relationship.

[0052] Furthermore, in the vehicle door latch device 1 of this embodiment, the drive element includes a sector gear 13, and the release member includes a pawl 15 and a release lever 16. The pawl 15 contacts the catch 12 to restrict rotation of the catch 12 in the release direction and is elastically biased in the restricting direction. The release lever 16 contacts the pawl 15 through contact with the sector gear 13, causing the pawl 15 to rotate in the counter-restriction direction against the elastic bias. As a result, even if the positional relationship between the catch 12 and the scintillator 14 becomes irregular, the sector gear 13 contacts the release lever 16 and can rotate the release lever 16 in the counter-restriction direction, allowing the catch 12 to rotate in the release direction and return to the unlatched position P1. As a result, the catch 12 and the scintillator 14 can be restored to the correct positional relationship.

[0053] The vehicle door latch device 1 of this embodiment further includes a base plate 11, and the catch 12, sector gear 13, scintillator 14, pawl 15, and release lever 16 are each rotatably mounted on the base plate 11. The catch 12 is elastically biased in a release direction relative to the base plate 11. The sector gear 13 and scintillator 14 are supported on the base plate 11 by the same rotation shaft 13C. The scintillator 14 is elastically biased in a release direction relative to the sector gear 13. The pawl 15 is elastically biased in a restricting direction relative to the base plate 11. The release lever 16 is elastically biased in a direction that allows the pawl 15 to rotate in the restricting direction relative to the base plate 11. As a result, even if the positional relationship between the catch 12 and the scintillator 14 becomes irregular, the sector gear 13 contacts the release lever 16 and can rotate the release lever 16 in the counter-restricting direction, allowing the catch 12 to rotate in the release direction and return to the unlatched position P1. As a result, the catch 12 and the scintillator 14 can be restored to their correct positional relationship.

[0054] The vehicle door latch device 1 of this embodiment further includes a sensor 4 that detects the half-latched position P2 of the catch 12, and a controller 5 that drives and controls the actuator 3 based on a detection signal from the sensor 4 and a release signal from a door open switch. When the sensor 4 detects that the catch 12 is in the half-latched position P2, the controller 5 controls the actuator 3 to drive the sector gear 13 to rotate the scintillator 14 in the latching direction and rotate the catch 12 to the full-latched position P3. When a release signal from the door open switch is input, the controller 5 controls the actuator 3 to drive the sector gear 13 to rotate the release lever 16, releasing the restriction of the catch 12 by the pawl 15 and rotating the catch 12 to the half-latched position P2 or the unlatched position P1. As a result, even if the positional relationship between the catch 12 and the scintillator 14 becomes irregular, the sector gear 13 can come into contact with the release lever 16 and rotate the release lever 16 in the counter-restriction direction, so that the catch 12 can rotate in the release direction and return to the unlatched position P1. As a result, the catch 12 and the scintillator 14 can be returned to their normal positional relationship.

[0055] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Vehicle door latch device 11...Base plate 12...Catch 12C...Rotation shaft 121...First convex portion 122...Second convex portion 123...Notch portion 124...First recess 125...Contact portion 13...Sector gear (driving element) 13A...Rotation shaft 131...Tooth portion 132...Groove 132X...First groove 132Y...Second groove 133...Pin 14...Scintillator 141...Pin 142...Contact portion 143...Groove 15...Pawl (release member) 15C...Rotation shaft 151...First recess 152...Second recess 153...First convex portion 154...Contact portion 16...Release lever (release member) 16A...Rotation shaft 161...First contact portion 162...Second contact portion 163...Stopper pin 17...Stopper 2: striker 3: actuator 4: sensor 5: controller

Claims

1. A latch device provided on a door side of a vehicle, a catch that is elastically biased in a release direction so as to be capable of rotation in a latch direction toward a full latch position and rotation in a release direction toward an unlatched position, and that engages with a striker provided on a body side of the vehicle; a drive element that is rotated by an actuator; a scintillator connected to the drive element, which comes into contact with a contact portion of the catch on a rear side in a latch direction of the catch by rotation of the drive element, and rotates the catch in the latch direction; a release member that restricts the rotation of the catch in a release direction, is elastically biased in the restriction direction, and is rotatable in a counter-restriction direction against the elastic bias by contact with the drive element; one of the drive element and the scintillator has a groove that limits a rotation range of the drive element depending on a rotational position of the scintillator; A vehicle door latch device in which one end of the groove is open so that when the catch is in a position between the fully latched position and the unlatched position and the scintillator is positioned forward of the contact portion of the catch in the latch direction of the catch, the drive element can contact the release member and rotate the release member in the anti-restriction direction.

2. 2. The vehicle door latch device as described in claim 1, further comprising a stopper that restricts rotation of the scintillator in the latch direction so as to prevent the catch from reaching the fully latched position when the scintillator is positioned forward of the contact portion of the catch in the latch direction of the catch.

3. The groove is engaged with a pin member provided on the other of the driving element and the scintillator, 3. The vehicle door latch device according to claim 1, wherein when the catch is in a position between the fully latched position and the unlatched position and the scintillator is forward of the contact portion of the catch in the latch direction of the catch, the pin member disengages from the open end of the groove and the drive element rotates to a position in contact with the release member.

4. The drive element includes a sector gear; The release member includes a pole and a release lever. The pawl is in contact with the catch so as to restrict the rotation of the catch in the release direction, and is elastically biased in the restriction direction; 3. The vehicle door latch device according to claim 1, wherein the release lever contacts the pole by contacting with the driving element, thereby rotating the pole in the counter-restriction direction against the elastic bias.

5. Further comprising a base plate; the catch, the drive element, the scintillator, the pole and the release lever are each rotatably mounted on the base plate; The catch is elastically biased in the release direction relative to the base plate, the drive element and the scintillator are supported on the base plate by a common rotation axis; The scintillator is elastically biased in a release direction relative to the drive element, The pole is elastically biased in the restricting direction relative to the base plate, 5. The vehicle door latch device according to claim 4, wherein the release lever is elastically biased in a direction that allows the pawl to rotate in the regulating direction relative to the base plate.

6. a sensor for detecting a half-latched position of the catch; A controller that drives and controls the actuator based on a detection signal from the sensor and a release signal from a door open switch, The controller: When the sensor detects that the catch is in the half latch position, the actuator is driven to rotate the scintillator in a latching direction by controlling the actuator to rotate the catch to the full latch position; 6. The vehicle door latch device according to claim 5, wherein when a release signal is input from the door open switch, the actuator is driven to control the drive element to rotate the release lever, thereby releasing the restriction of the catch by the pole and rotating the catch to the half-latched position or the unlatched position.