Motor Vehicle Door Lock Storage Element Release Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motor vehicle door lock designs are complex and unreliable, as the storage element can malfunction, allowing the pawl to unintentionally engage with the rotary latch, impeding the opening movement.
Innovation Solution
The storage element retains the release element in an ineffective position with respect to the locking mechanism during the opening movement of the rotary latch, ensuring the pawl is pretensioned away from engagement, using a spring-assisted design that interacts with a storage stage to maintain the release element's ineffective position, preventing unintentional blocking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the storage element acts on the pawl to retain it in its release position, then the pawl is prevented from engaging with the rotary latch, but the design becomes complex and unreliable when the storage element malfunctions
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the storage element's action from the pawl and transfers it to the release element. The storage element now retains the release element in an ineffective position rather than directly acting on the pawl. This simplifies the design by removing the complex interaction between the storage element and pawl, while improving reliability by preventing unintentional engagement through a different mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of the storage element acting on the pawl to prevent engagement, the invention inverts the approach by having the storage element act on the release element. This indirect approach prevents the release element from becoming ineffective, which in turn ensures the pawl cannot unintentionally engage with the rotary latch. This inversion simplifies the mechanical interaction while maintaining or improving reliability.
2Reliability
If the storage element directly retains the pawl in its release position, then unintentional engagement is prevented, but the mechanism becomes more complex with multiple levers
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the direct retention function from the pawl-storage element interaction and relocates it to the release element-storage element interaction. This removes the need for complex lever mechanisms that would be required to directly retain the pawl, while achieving the same reliability outcome through a simpler configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The release element serves multiple functions: it controls the locking mechanism and simultaneously serves as the retention target for the storage element during opening movement. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated retention mechanisms, simplifying the overall design while maintaining functional reliability.
3Device complexity
If the release element is allowed to move freely during opening movement, then the mechanism is simpler, but the pawl may unintentionally engage with the rotary latch
Solution Approach 1:
The storage element performs a preliminary action by retaining the release element in an ineffective position at the start of the opening movement. This preliminary retention prevents any possibility of unintentional pawl engagement before the opening movement begins, allowing the release element to move freely during the actual opening without risk of malfunction.
Solution Approach 2:
The storage element applies a preliminary anti-action by constraining the release element before the opening movement occurs. This preliminary constraint counteracts any potential harmful engagement of the pawl with the rotary latch, allowing the release element to be completely free during the opening movement itself, thus achieving both simplicity and reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design significantly increases functional reliability by ensuring the pawl does not engage with the rotary latch during opening, allowing unobstructed movement and reducing mechanical interference, while maintaining a simple and efficient mechanism.
Implementation Method 1
the pawl is advantageously pretensioned in the direction of a disengaged position. This is typically ensured by a spring assigned to the pawl
Data Source
AI summary
The subject matter of the present invention is a motor vehicle door lock, the basic construction of which is equipped with a locking mechanism (1, 2) consisting essentially of a rotary latch (1) and a detent pawl (2), furthermore with a release element (3) for the locking mechanism (1, 2) and with a storage element (4). The storage element (4) ensures an unobstructed opening movement of the rotary latch (1) from a closed position into an open position. According to the invention, for this purpose, the storage element (4) holds the release element (3) during the opening movement of the rotary latch (1) in an ineffective position with respect to the locking mechanism (1, 2).