Motor Vehicle Lock Blocking Lever Spring Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motor vehicle locks face challenges in minimizing opening and closing noises and frictional forces, particularly due to the interaction between the rotary latch and the blocking lever, which can lead to undesirable opening during vibrations.
Innovation Solution
A lock design featuring a spring-loaded blocking lever with a balanced center of gravity and a plastic sleeve separating the metal axis from the blocking lever, along with a plastic coating on metal components to reduce noise and friction, ensures smooth operation and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the blocking lever is made of metal and rotatably mounted, then the locking mechanism achieves high stability and reliability, but opening and closing noises and frictional forces increase
Solution Approach 1:
A plastic sleeve is introduced as an intermediary component between the metal axis and the blocking lever. This plastic sleeve acts as a mediator that reduces direct metal-to-metal contact, thereby minimizing frictional forces and opening/closing noises while maintaining the structural stability provided by the metal components.
Solution Approach 2:
The plastic sleeve functions as a flexible protective shell that envelops the metal axis. This thin-walled plastic structure reduces friction and noise through its inherent material properties while allowing the blocking lever to maintain its rotational movement for reliable locking functionality.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If metal parts are covered with plastic to minimize noise and friction, then opening and closing noises are reduced, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of coating the entire blocking lever with plastic, only the specific area requiring noise and friction reduction is addressed by extracting the function to a separate plastic sleeve component. This localized approach simplifies manufacturing compared to full coating processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The blocking lever assembly is segmented into distinct functional components: the metal blocking lever for structural stability, the metal axis for support, and the plastic sleeve for friction and noise reduction. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured separately using optimal processes and assembled, reducing overall manufacturing complexity.
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
The design significantly minimizes noise and frictional forces during the locking mechanism's operation, enhancing the smooth running and reliability of the lock while maintaining structural stability with reduced manufacturing effort.
Implementation Method 1
The plastic layer extends to a pin attached to the first-position pawl, which is also covered by the plastic layer. Metal parts that adjoin the first-position pawl from above or below in the area of the axis then lie on the surfaces of the plastic strips, so that rotating noises and frictional forces are reduced
Implementation Method 2
Metal parts are at least partially covered with plastic in order to minimize opening and closing noise as well as frictional forces
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a lock for a motor vehicle having a locking mechanism comprising a rotary latch, a main latching pawl and preferably a preliminary latching pawl for latching the rotary latch. The preliminary latching pawl can engage in a preliminary latching element of the rotary latch. The main latching pawl can engage in a main latching element of the rotary latch. Moreover, there is a blocking lever for blocking the main latching pawl. The blocking lever is spring-mounted in order to ensure smooth running.