Motor vehicle door lock having a coupling lever

Abstract

The invention relates to a motor vehicle door lock, having a locking mechanism, a safety unit (3), a worm wheel (5) assigned to the safety unit (3), and at least one drive (9) for the worm wheel (5), wherein a contact surface (18) of a coupling lever (7) is indirectly or directly acted on by means of a contour (12) of the worm wheel (5) in order to transfer the coupling lever at least into the "engaged" or "disengaged" functional positions, and wherein the coupling lever (7) in its "engaged" position connects a triggering lever (8), with indirect or direct action on the coupling lever (7) by an actuating lever (6), to the locking mechanism for opening thereof and thus "unlocks" it, and in its "disengaged" position separates the triggering lever (8) from the locking mechanism and the latter assumes the "locked" position. For this purpose, the coupling lever (7) has a stop arm (15), which interacts with the actuating lever (6), and a control arm (14), which interacts with the worm wheel (5).

Description

[0001] Kiekert AG

[0002] P24042DE

[0003] 1

[0004] Description of motor vehicle door lock with clutch lever

[0005] The invention relates to a motor vehicle door lock, comprising a locking mechanism, a safety unit, a worm gear associated with the safety unit, and at least one drive for the worm gear, wherein a contact surface of a clutch lever is actuated indirectly or directly by means of a contour of the worm gear in order to bring it (the clutch lever) at least into the functional positions "engaged" or "unengaged", wherein in its "engaged" position the clutch lever connects a release lever to the locking mechanism for opening when the clutch lever is actuated indirectly or directly by an actuating lever, and thus "unlocks", and in its "unengaged" position separates the release lever from the locking mechanism and the latter assumes the "locked" position.

[0006] A motor vehicle door lock of the design described above is described, for example, in DE 10 2005 015 468 A1. The motor vehicle door lock described therein operates with a motor drive on both a locking lever and a clutch lever to move these two into their respective functional positions of "unlocked" and "locked". In DE 10 2005 015 468 A1, this is achieved via an actuating element, which is driven by the motor drive and interacts with a locking lever actuation arrangement and a clutch lever actuation arrangement, respectively, to ensure the locking and unlocking of the corresponding locking mechanism.

[0007] In detail, the clutch lever and the locking lever are structurally separate, with the locking lever being able to pivot about an axis, whereas the clutch lever preferably undergoes linear adjustment relative to a housing. The clutch lever actuation arrangement on the actuator of the motor drive is manufactured by Kiekert AG.

[0008] P24042DE

[0009] 2 directly onto an adjusting lever arm and the clutch lever, thus achieving a transition from the "locked" to the "unlocked" position. The locking lever, which is equipped with a fork receptacle for one or more engaging control cams, is actuated by these control cams as part of the locking lever actuation arrangement. The clutch lever is thus moved to the "unlocked" position before the locking lever, so that the handle is mechanically connected to the lock in order to open it.

[0010] Independently of this, DE 10 2018 109 899 A1 describes a motor vehicle lock, in particular for a vehicle rear door, which is equipped with a coupling lever that interacts with a drive element of the actuator and a central locking mechanism. The coupling lever is capable of assuming different positions and is connected to the drive element for this purpose. The drive element, designed as a worm gear, interacts with a spring mechanism via a detent contour, so that at least two positions can be achieved by the drive element. These different positions of the coupling lever essentially enable the drive element to interact with the central locking mechanism, thus unlocking and locking the lock.

[0011] In DE 10 2006 019 336 A1, the procedure is such that a drive via an actuator allows both a first lever to be moved from a first functional position to a second functional position and vice versa. In DE 10 2006 019 336 A1, the first and second levers are connected to each other via a coupling lever to effect a changeover using a locking mechanism.

[0012] Typically, the aforementioned unlocking and locking mechanisms are those used by Kiekert AG.

[0013] P24042DE

[0014] 3

[0015] The system includes a central locking lever and an anti-theft lever. In this case, there are specific design features that could be improved in terms of technological complexity. The invention aims to remedy this overall situation.

[0016] The invention is based on the technical problem of further developing a motor vehicle door lock of the design described above in such a way as to provide a simple and cost-effective solution, while at the same time achieving increased compactness and improved comfort.

[0017] To solve this technical problem, a generic motor vehicle door lock according to the invention is characterized in that the clutch lever has a stop arm which interacts with an actuating lever and a control arm which interacts with the worm gear. Both arms, i.e., the stop arm and the control arm, are spatially separated from each other and functionally distinct. The clutch lever usually forms part of the safety unit. Its functional positions therefore correspond to corresponding positions of the safety unit.

[0018] The worm gear is preferably driven indirectly or directly by an electric motor. The electric motor drive is preferably a worm drive or worm gear drive, which consists of at least two parts: a motor unit and a worm unit. The worm unit, driven by the motor unit, rotates around its own axis and engages with teeth located on the worm gear to cause the worm gear to rotate. However, other electric motor drives with a downstream gearbox for driving a worm gear are also conceivable. Kiekert AG

[0019] P24042DE

[0020] 4

[0021] The worm gear, driven by the – preferably electric – motor, can thus rotate around its own axis. The contour formed as part of the worm gear for engaging the clutch lever is preferably cam-shaped. The contour can preferably be a raised section of the worm gear and is particularly preferably U-shaped. Other contour shapes with at least partially circular elements are also included. The worm gear and the contour are typically formed in one piece, for example, as an injection-molded plastic part. For particularly advantageous engagement of the clutch lever, the contour can also be provided with low-friction coatings to improve the sliding properties between the contour and the clutch lever, thus providing a smooth-running and quiet locking mechanism.

[0022] In the event of a crash, the resulting G-forces may exceed the opposing spring force of the existing springs. In this case, it is possible that the clutch lever will pivot during the period of G-forces and thus lose contact with the worm gear. The worm gear is held in its position by the center of gravity, which is preferably located on the axis of rotation, and remains in its original position. Following the crash and the associated acceleration forces, the spring-loaded clutch lever rotates back to its original position, thus restoring the original locked state of the locking mechanism.

[0023] According to the invention, a change in the clutch state is effected indirectly or directly by means of the contour of the worm gear in conjunction with the resulting change in the position of the clutch lever. Advantageously, the vehicle door lock, and in particular the locking unit, is designed such that a change in the clutch state is possible independently of the position of the release lever. This design of the locking unit is a further advantage over the prior art mentioned above. Kiekert AG

[0024] P24042DE

[0025] 5

[0026] In the event that the locking unit is already in the "unlocked" position due to the manually actuated lever in conjunction with the clutch lever, the invention particularly advantageously allows the clutch state of the locking unit to be changed and the locking unit to be, for example, "locked," in contrast to the prior art cited. An electromechanical actuation of the operating lever is also included in the invention.

[0027] The actuation occurs essentially by allowing the worm gear and its contour to rotate freely via the electric motor drive. If the actuating lever, and thus the interacting release lever or clutch lever, is subsequently no longer actuated, the safety unit nevertheless enters the locked state, which has changed in the meantime, and moves into the "locked" position. For this purpose, the contour of the worm gear is designed such that the clutch lever is moved into the "disengaged" position, which in turn prevents the actuating lever from being actuated again.The previously mentioned change in the clutch lever's functional position from "engaged" to "disengaged" is achieved here by the clutch lever's stop arm striking the contour of the worm gear, thereby changing the relative angle between the clutch lever and the release lever radially outwards. The control arm on the clutch lever moves in the same direction, resulting in the "disengaged" position and thus no action being applied by the actuating lever.

[0028] Preferably, the clutch lever is designed such that in the "extended" functional position it exerts a radial force originating from the worm gear according to Kiekert AG.

[0029] P24042DE

[0030] The clutch lever has an inwardly directed, preferably neutral, force vector towards the worm gear, particularly towards the contour of the worm gear. This force vector ensures that the clutch lever (spring-assisted) remains in constant and continuous contact with the worm gear, thus maintaining the functional position set by means of the worm gear. This advantageously prevents any unwanted change in the functional position of the clutch lever and, consequently, any change in the position of the release lever. Preferably, the actuating lever is L-shaped according to the invention.

[0031] The vehicle door lock according to the invention preferably provides that the clutch lever is actuated by a spring. This spring action of the clutch lever ultimately results in the clutch lever, or rather the stop arm located on the clutch lever, being in constant contact with the worm gear, in particular with the contour of the worm gear, and thus achieving the radially inward force vector mentioned above. For this purpose, the spring is located in the area of ​​a connecting element between the clutch lever and the release lever in order to influence the relative angle between the clutch lever and the release lever. Specifically, the clutch lever has a rotational stop so that the spring-actuated clutch lever cannot engage if contact is lost, for example, when actuated by the operating lever.The spring can be, for example, a disc spring or a coil spring and is preferably made of metal, but could also be made of plastic or rubber.

[0032] The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to drawings illustrating only one embodiment; these show: Kiekert AG

[0033] P24042DE

[0034] 7

[0035] Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a motor vehicle door lock according to the invention in a first position / functional position,

[0036] Fig. 2 shows the embodiment of Fig. 1 in a second version.

[0037] Position / Functional Position,

[0038] Figs. 3 and 4 show the embodiment of Fig. 1 when pressurized.

[0039] Operating lever.

[0040] Figure 1 shows an embodiment of a device according to the invention.

[0041] Figure 1 shows a motor vehicle door lock 1. The motor vehicle door lock 1 has a security unit 3 located in a housing 2, comprising a drive unit 4, a worm gear 5, an actuating lever 6, a clutch lever 7, and a release lever 8. The security unit 3 can be designed as a locking unit, an anti-theft unit, or a child safety unit, or optionally as a combination of these units. The actuating lever 6 and the release lever 8 are not necessarily components of the security unit 3. The drive unit 4, consisting of an electromechanical unit 9 and a helical worm shaft 10, drives the worm gear 5. For this purpose, the worm gear 5 has teeth 11, so that the rotary motion of the drive unit 4 or the worm shaft 10 rotates the worm gear 5 either clockwise or counterclockwise.The worm shaft 10 and the worm wheel 5 thus form a worm gear which is particularly advantageous as it guarantees low noise and high load capacity.

[0042] The locking unit 3 shown in Fig. 1 is in the "home position". In this context, this means that the clutch lever 7 is in the "engaged" operating position. In this embodiment, the "engaged" operating position is defined such that the worm gear 5 is in the position shown in Fig. 1. Kiekert AG

[0043] P24042DE

[0044] 8 is positioned so that the cam-like contour 12 located on the worm gear 5 is not in contact with the clutch lever 7 or pivots it about its axis. The clutch lever 7, actuated by a spring 13 and consisting of control arm 14 and stop arm 15, thus rests with the control arm 14 against a second central contour 16 of the worm gear 5 in the "home position".

[0045] It can be seen that the control arm 14 and the stop arm 15 are designed to be spatially and functionally separate from one another. In fact, the stop arm 15 extends radially from the axis or axis of rotation of the clutch lever 7, which is equipped with the spring 13. In contrast, the control arm 14 is radially spaced from the axis and extends predominantly parallel to the stop arm 15. Thus, the control arm 14 is located radially outside the stop arm 15 with respect to the axis or axis of rotation of the clutch lever 7. The clutch lever 7 is rotatably mounted on the release lever 8 about the aforementioned axis.

[0046] When the clutch lever 7 rests against the central contour 16 of the worm gear 3, which is located in the center of the worm gear 3, the clutch lever 7 is aligned such that the stop arm 15 is actuated by the L-shaped actuating lever 6 when, for example, the actuating lever 6 is manually actuated. This can be seen by comparing Figures 1 and 3. During this actuation, the release lever 8 pivots about the pin 17. The pin 17 defines an axis or axis of rotation for both the actuating lever 6 and the release lever 8, which are therefore mounted coaxially. The rotation of the release lever 8 causes it to act on a pawl (not shown) as part of a locking mechanism, thus moving this mechanism into its "unlocked" position and consequently opening the locking mechanism.

[0047] The aforementioned locking mechanism is not explicitly shown in Figures 1-4 as part of the vehicle door lock. This mechanism, not shown, is manufactured by Kiekert AG.

[0048] P24042DE

[0049] 9

[0050] The locking mechanism consists at least of a pawl and a rotary latch. The release lever 8 acts on this locking mechanism in a known manner, disengaging the pawl so that the rotary latch, with spring assistance, releases a locking bolt.

[0051] Fig. 2 shows the vehicle door lock already described in Fig. 1, but in a modified position / functional state. In Fig. 2, the clutch lever 7 is in the "disengaged" position. This change in position is caused by the rotation of the worm gear 5 by the drive unit 4. When actuated by the drive unit 4, the worm gear 5 rotates counterclockwise around its own axis. This creates contact between the contour 12 and a contact surface 18 of the control arm 14, so that the functional state of the clutch lever 7 changes from the "engaged" position (Fig. 1) to the "disengaged" position (Fig. 2).The contact between the contour 12 and the control arm 14, in conjunction with the rotation of the worm gear 5, causes the clutch lever 7 to be rotated clockwise by an angle a about the axis of rotation located in the position of the spring 13, relative to the release lever 8 defining the axis.

[0052] The stop arm 15 located on the clutch lever 7 also rotates, which consequently causes the stop arm 15 to move away from the actuating lever 6, which is not currently engaged. This spatial separation between the stop arm 15 and the actuating lever 6 ultimately means that if the actuating lever 6 is engaged, the stop arm 15 cannot be engaged by the actuating lever 6. For example, if the actuating lever 6 is manually engaged by a user, the release lever 8 therefore remains in its "home position," so the locking mechanism (not explicitly shown here), consisting of a pawl and a rotary latch, is not unlocked. The release lever 8 thus does not come into contact with the pawl, so it is not disengaged and the locking bolt is not engaged. Kiekert AG

[0053] P24042DE

[0054] 10 is released. The clutch lever 7 is extended and the locking mechanism or the safety unit 3 is locked (Fig. 2).

[0055] The engaged state of the locking unit 3 is achieved or ensured by the fact that the clutch lever 7 is constantly held in contact with the contour 12 by the spring 13. The rotation of the clutch lever 7 caused by the movement of the contour 12 provides additional tension to the spring 13. This, in turn, generates a counterclockwise torque on the clutch lever 7. This torque of the spring 13 ultimately ensures that the stop arm 14 has a neutral force vector F with respect to the worm gear 5, in particular to the contour 12 of the worm gear 5. This force vector F ensures that the engaged state remains until the worm gear 5 is actuated again to change the engagement state.

[0056] Figure 3 shows the state of the vehicle door lock, starting from the initial position shown in Figure 1, after the actuating lever 6 has been engaged. As previously described, when actuated, the lever 6 engages the stop arm 15 of the clutch lever 7, provided the latter is in the "engaged" position. The release lever 8, actuated by the clutch lever 7, thus rotates clockwise around the axis 17 and interacts with the pawl of the locking mechanism (not shown here), moving it into the "unlocked" position. This state is shown schematically in Figure 3 with the lever 6 still engaged.

[0057] In the event that a rotational action on the worm gear 5, triggered by the drive 4, causes a change in the coupling state, this is possible according to the invention and is particularly advantageous in contrast to the prior art cited, even if the actuating lever 6 is subjected to action. The locking unit 3 is typically used, for example, in vehicle door locks as an anti-theft device. Kiekert AG

[0058] P24042DE

[0059] 11 and thus, as a rule, engaged or disengaged with the door closed and the actuating lever not actuated. This special case, shown in Figs. 3 and 4, where the clutch state is to be changed with the actuating lever 6 engaged, is advantageously possible according to the invention. The worm gear 5 can rotate counterclockwise as usual under the influence of the drive unit 4 and thus assume the "disengaged" position, even if the clutch lever 7 is not in contact with the worm gear 5 or the contour 12 at this time (see Fig. 4).

[0060] As soon as the previously deflected actuating lever 6 is no longer actuated, the release lever 8, together with the clutch lever 7, is returned to its home position shown in Fig. 1 by the spring action of the spring 13. During this return process, the control arm 14 of the clutch lever 7, as shown in Fig. 4, comes into contact with the contour 12. The contour 12 is designed and equipped with a chamfer such that, even in this special case, the actuating lever 6 of the safety unit 3 is also moved into the intended engaged position.

[0061] The discontinuation of pressure on the actuating lever 6 leads to the locking unit 3 also entering the "disengaged" position when the clutch state changes to the "disengaged" state, as already shown in Fig. 2.

[0062] If the operating lever 6 is actuated again, for example by the user, then, as already described in relation to Fig. 2, no action is taken on the stop arm 15 or the release lever 8, and the locking mechanism remains in its "locked" position. Kiekert AG

[0063] P24042DE

[0064] 12

[0065] Reference sign

[0066] 1 Motor vehicle door lock

[0067] 2 cases

[0068] 3 fuse unit

[0069] 4 Drive unit

[0070] 5 worm gear

[0071] 6 operating levers

[0072] 7 Clutch levers

[0073] 8 release levers

[0074] 9 Electric motor drive

[0075] 10 snail shaft

[0076] 11th tooth

[0077] 12 Contour

[0078] 13 spring

[0079] 14 Control arm

[0080] 15 Stop arm

[0081] 16 Central contour

[0082] 17 cones

[0083] 18 Plant area

[0084] F neutral force vector

Claims

Kiekert AG P24042DE 13 Patent claims 1. Motor vehicle door lock (1), comprising a locking mechanism, a safety unit (3), a worm gear (5) associated with the safety unit (3), and at least one drive (9) for the worm gear (5), wherein a contact surface (18) of a clutch lever (7) is actuated indirectly or directly by means of a contour (12) of the worm gear (5) in order to move it at least into the functional positions "engaged" or "unengaged", and wherein, in its "engaged" position, the clutch lever (7) connects a release lever (8) to the locking mechanism for opening when the clutch lever (7) is actuated indirectly or directly by an actuating lever (6), and thus "unlocks", and in its "unengaged" position, the release lever (8) separates the release lever from the locking mechanism and the latter assumes the "locked" position, characterized in that the clutch lever (7) has a stop arm (15),which interacts with the actuating lever (6) and a control arm (14) which interacts with the worm gear (5).

2. Motor vehicle door lock according to claim 1, characterized in that the worm wheel (5) is actuated by an electric motor, preferably by a worm wheel drive, indirectly or directly.

3. Motor vehicle door lock according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the contour (12) of the worm gear (5) is cam-shaped for acting on the clutch lever (7). Kiekert AG P24042DE 14 4. Motor vehicle door lock according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a change in the clutch state of the clutch lever (7) is possible independently of the position of the release lever (8).

5. Motor vehicle door lock according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the clutch lever (7) interacts with the release lever (8).

6. Motor vehicle door lock according to claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the preferably manually actuated operating lever (6) acts the clutch lever (7) in its functional position "engaged" and thus acts the release lever (8) and in its functional position "disengaged" no actuation by the operating lever (6) takes place.

7. Motor vehicle door lock according to claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the clutch lever (7) in the functional position "extended" has a force vector directed radially inwards from the worm wheel (5), preferably neutral, to the worm wheel (5), in particular to the contour (12) of the worm wheel (5).

8. Motor vehicle door lock according to claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the actuating lever (6) is L-shaped.

9. Motor vehicle door lock according to claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the clutch lever (7) is spring-loaded by a spring (13).

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