Motor Vehicle Door Lock Dual-Direction Drive
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motor vehicle door locks with electromechanical opening drives face increased manufacturing and design complexity due to the need for additional drives for emergency opening in crash scenarios, which also increases weight and susceptibility to malfunctions.
Innovation Solution
A motor vehicle door lock design where the opening drive performs two different directions of movement, with the first direction enabling electrical opening and the second direction establishing a mechanical connection between the handle and locking mechanism, independent of the security unit's position, utilizing a second sensor for crash or vehicle speed detection to implement temporary mechanical redundancy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an additional drive is added for emergency opening in crash scenarios, then mechanical redundancy in emergency situations is improved, but device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the emergency opening drive and normal opening drive into a single integrated drive unit. The drive can operate in two modes: normally actuating the locking mechanism through the locking lever, and in crash scenarios actuating the locking mechanism directly through the locking mechanism actuator. This merging eliminates the need for separate drives while maintaining mechanical redundancy.
Solution Approach 2:
The single opening drive is designed to perform multiple functions: it can open the door lock under normal conditions by actuating the locking lever, and it can also provide emergency opening by directly actuating the locking mechanism when a crash is detected. This multi-functionality replaces what would traditionally require separate dedicated drives for normal and emergency operations.
2Reliability
If an additional drive is added for emergency opening, then mechanical redundancy in emergency situations is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the emergency opening drive and normal opening drive into a single integrated drive unit. The drive can operate in two modes: normally actuating the locking mechanism through the locking lever, and in crash scenarios actuating the locking mechanism directly through the locking mechanism actuator. This merging eliminates the need for separate drives while maintaining mechanical redundancy.
3Reliability
If the opening drive is designed to perform two different directions of movement, then mechanical redundancy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The opening drive is designed with dynamic functionality to perform movements in two different directions. In the first direction, it actuates the locking lever for normal opening operations. In the second direction, it directly actuates the locking mechanism for emergency opening. This dynamic capability is integrated into the drive's control system, allowing it to adapt its movement direction based on operational requirements without adding complex mechanical structures.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a motor vehicle door lock (2) which is provided with an electromechanical opening drive (8) for a locking mechanism (9, 10), and with at least one safety unit (4) and with a control unit (3). In the "safety off" position of the safety unit (4), the opening drive (8) is impinged by means of the control unit (3) for the purpose of electrical opening, according to e.g. signals of a first sensor (15) transmitted to a handle (11). Whereas, in the "safety on" position of the safety unit (4), signals of the first sensor (15) are ignored by the control unit (3). According to the invention, the opening drive (8) performs in at least two different movement directions and acts on the locking mechanism (9, 10) in the first movement direction and in the "safety off" position of the safety unit (4). In contrast, in the second movement direction, the opening drive (8) produces an additional mechanical connection of the handle (11) to the locking mechanism (9, 10) according to to a further second sensor (5, 7).