Motor Vehicle Lock Drivetrain Arrangement for Low-Force Operation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motor vehicle locks require significant manual force to open and close, especially in adverse environmental conditions, and lack efficient mechanisms to overcome seal compression forces during the closing process, affecting user-friendliness and operational reliability.
Innovation Solution
A motor vehicle lock with a detent mechanism and drivetrain arrangement that utilizes a single drive element to perform both opening and cinching functions, driven in a predefined direction, allowing for low manual effort and efficient operation independent of environmental conditions, using a catch and pawl mechanism with synchronized drive movements to reduce force requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a motor vehicle lock uses traditional manual operation mechanisms, then the structure remains simple, but significant manual force is required to open and close the lock, especially in adverse environmental conditions
Solution Approach 1:
A drive element acts as an intermediary between the user's manual input and the lock mechanism. This drive element amplifies the user's input force through a drivetrain arrangement, enabling the lock to be operated with minimal manual effort while maintaining structural simplicity. The intermediary mechanism translates small input forces into the high forces needed to overcome seal compression.
Solution Approach 2:
The lock mechanism is segmented into distinct functional components: a detent mechanism for holding, a drivetrain arrangement for force transmission, and a drive element for user input. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while working together to reduce overall operational force requirements.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the lock uses separate motorized drives for opening and cinching functions, then each function can be independently optimized, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single drive element serves multiple functions: it can operate the lock in opening direction, closing direction, and cinching direction. By designing the drivetrain arrangement to be controllable in different directions, one universal drive mechanism replaces what would traditionally require multiple specialized drives, reducing complexity while maintaining functional versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The drivetrain arrangement is designed to be dynamically controllable, allowing the single drive element to switch between different operational modes (opening, closing, cinching) based on directional control. This dynamic adaptability enables one mechanism to perform the work of multiple fixed mechanisms.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the drive element is driven in both directions to perform different functions, then functional flexibility is achieved, but the mechanical arrangement becomes more complex and costly
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using two separate drives for opening and closing/cinching functions, the invention inverts the approach by using a single drive that can be controlled in reverse directions. This inversion simplifies the mechanical arrangement and reduces manufacturing costs while achieving the same functional flexibility.
4Reliability
If the lock mechanism is designed to overcome high seal compression forces during closing, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but the manual force required increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The drivetrain arrangement acts as a force-amplifying intermediary between the user's manual input and the lock mechanism. It translates small user-applied forces into the high forces needed to overcome seal compression during closing, ensuring both sealing effectiveness and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides mechanical advantage through the drivetrain arrangement, effectively counteracting the high closing forces through a system that multiplies input force. This allows the user to apply minimal force while the mechanism generates the high forces needed for effective sealing.
Data Source
AI summary
A motor vehicle lock, including a detent mechanism with a catch and a pawl. The motor vehicle lock may include a drivetrain arrangement with a drive element that may move in a predefined drive direction. During a cinching sequence, the drive element moves in the predefined drive direction, so that the drivetrain arrangement engages and drives the catch in a closing direction to a primary closed position. During a release sequence, the drive element may move in the predefined drive direction, so that the drivetrain arrangement engages and drives the pawl in a release direction to a release state. During the release sequence, the drive element moves in the predefined drive direction, so that the drivetrain arrangement moves to a clearance state, such that the pawl is in a release state and the catch may pivot to an open position drivetrain.