This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C ยง119 with respect to Japanese Patent Application 2006-300208, filed on Nov. 6, 2006, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to a door locking system for a vehicle. In particular, the invention relates to a door locking system for a vehicle mounted to a vehicle door and provided with a latch, which engages with a striker provided at a vehicle body and rotates, and a pawl, which allows the latch to rotate in a locking direction and regulates the latch to rotate in a lock releasing direction.
A door locking system for a vehicle, in which a latch is rotationally driven by a latch driving motor to bring the door in a fully closed state when a door is brought in a half closed state, is known as one of the above-described door locking systems for the vehicle. Here, when the door is brought in the fully closed state, a sound-proofing member is strongly pressed between the door and the vehicle body, and the latch and a pawl are pressed each other by the reaction force to be frictionally engaged. Then, the frictional engagement leads to an operational resistance when operating a door handle. Thus, the known door locking system for the vehicle is provided with a release motor in addition to the latch driving motor, and the release motor rotationally drives the pawl depending on the operation of the handle to disengage the pawl from the latch (for example, refer to JP 2001-98819A, paragraph [0025], [0028], FIG. 2).
However, the manufacturing cost for the aforementioned known door locking system for the vehicle increases because the door locking device is provided with two power sources, one is for the latch driving motor and the other is for the release motor, and thus prohibiting the progress of this kind of door locking system for the vehicle.
A need exists for a seat for a vehicle which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a door locking system for a vehicle includes a striker adapted to be provided at a vehicle body, a latch adapted to be mounted to a vehicle door, the latch engaging with the striker and rotating, a pawl engaging with the latch, the pawl allowing the latch to rotate in a locking direction that strengthens the engagement between the latch and the striker and regulating the latch to rotate in a lock releasing direction that is a reverse direction of the locking direction, a lock release operating portion moving the pawl to a release position to release the regulation on the rotation of the latch, a latch driving motor rotationally driven in one direction to rotationally drive the latch in the locking direction to shift the door to a fully closed state in which the door is completely closed when the vehicle door falls into a half-closed state, the latch driving motor rotationally driven in the other direction to move the pawl to the release position when the lock release operating portion is operated, and a power transmission system switching mechanism disposed between the latch driving motor, the pawl and the latch, the power transmission system switching mechanism connecting a motor output shaft of the latch driving motor, which is rotationally driven in the one direction, to the latch for rotationally driving the latch in the locking direction, and connecting the motor output shaft of the latch driving motor, which is rotationally driven in the other direction, to the pawl for moving the pawl to the release position, the power transmission system switching mechanism including a first canceling mechanism for switching a power state between a power transmitting state, in which power and a reaction force are transmitted from the motor output shaft to the pawl, and a power shutoff state, in which the power and the reaction force are shut off from the motor output shaft and the pawl.
The foregoing and additional features and characteristics of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description considered with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein.
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to
As illustrated in
Each striker 40 is formed by bending a material having a circular section such as a wire rod and forms a U-shape which is composed of a pair of legs 40X and a connecting bar 40Y connecting the distal ends of the legs 40X each other. The striker 40 corresponding to the closed door locking device 10A extends horizontally rearward from a front inner side surface of the door frame 99W and the legs 40X are respectively arranged at inner and outer sides of the door frame 99W. The closed door locking device 10A engages with one of the legs 40 which is arranged at the outer side of the door frame 99W. In
As illustrated in
A striker receiving groove 12 extending in a horizontal direction is provided at the base board 11. One end portion of the striker receiving groove 12 forms a striker receiving aperture 12K which opens to the inside of the vehicle, and the other end portion thereof is closed. Further, a notch (not shown) corresponding to the striker receiving groove 12 is provided on one end wall of the slide door 90 to which the base board 11 is mounted. When the slide door 90 is closed, the striker 40 enters from the striker receiving aperture 12K into the striker receiving groove 12.
The pawl 30 is rotatably journalled at a lower potion of the base board 11 relative to the striker receiving groove 12 and is provided with a latch rotation regulating piece 31 and a stopper piece 32 in a manner that protrudes the latch rotation regulating piece 31 and the stopper piece 32 respectively in two opposing direction from a rotational shaft 30J. Also, a torsion spring, not shown, is provided between the pawl 30 and the base board 11. The pawl 30 is biased by the torsion spring in a counter clockwise direction of
Also, the pawl 30 is provided with a pawl driving lever 30R at the corresponding position with the pawl 30 and the stopper piece 32 on the other side of the base board 11 and the pawl driving lever 30R and the remote control device 91 are connected by an open cable 93W. An intermediate portion of the open cable 93W is covered by a cladding tube 93H. When the open cable 93W is drawn toward the remote control device 91, the pawl 30 rotates in a clockwise direction of
The latch 20 is rotatably journalled at an upper potion of the base board 11 relative to the striker receiving groove 12. The latch 20 is soundproofed by covering a metal plate with a resin layer. The latch 20 is provided with a pair of engaging pawls 21 and 22 which are parallel, and a striker receiving portion 23 is formed between the engaging pawls 21 and 22. Further, the latch 20 is biased in a lock releasing direction (clockwise direction of
In the unlatched position, the front engaging pawl 21 is moved above the striker receiving groove 12 and the rear engaging pawl 22 crosses the striker receiving groove 12. At His time, an opening edge of the striker receiving portion 23 faces the striker receiving aperture 12K of the striker receiving groove 12 and the striker 40 enters into the striker receiving groove 12 to be received by the striker receiving portion 23. Also, the striker 40 pushes the rear engaging pawl 22 to rotate the latch 20 in the locking direction (counter clockwise direction in
When the slide door 90 is closed with an excessive force, the slide door 90 reaches a position where the sound-proofing member (not shown) between the slide door 90 and the door frame 99W is strongly pressed at a maximum. At this time, as shown in
When the slide door 90 is closed with an insufficient force, the slide door 90 is moved back by the elastic force of the sound-proofing member before the latch 20 reaches the over-stroke position or the full latched position. Then, as shown in
The closing device 10B is shown in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Components of a power transmission system switching mechanism are mounted to the mechanical plate 81. Details are described below. An active lever 50 (corresponding to an active rotation portion) is rotatably journalled in a position which is close to a lower end of the mechanical plate 81. The active lever 50 is provided with the latch and pawl mechanism 20K at one side and a fan-shaped rotational plate 51 at the other side sandwiching a rotational shaft 50J therebetween, and a gear 50G is formed on an outer peripheral edge of the fan-shaped rotational plate 51. Further, the active lever 50 is provided with a rotation support protruding piece 52 protruding toward the latch and pawl mechanism 20K from the rotational shaft 50J, and the swing type rotation board 55 is rotatably journalled by a distal end portion of the rotation support protruding piece 52.
The swing type rotation board 55 forms a swing type structure in which a rotating piece extends to both sides sandwiching the rotational shaft 55J between the extended portions, and a push-up wall 56 is bent to be raised toward the side opposite to the mechanical plate 81 at an upper edge of the swing type rotation board 55. The push-up wall 56 extends from above the rotational shaft 55J to a distal end portion of the swing type rotation board 55 located in the vicinity of the latch and pawl mechanism 20K and may contact with the latch driving lever 25 from downward. Also, the swing type rotation board 55 is biased in a direction that the push-up wall 56 moves away from the latch driving lever 25 (clockwise direction of
A contacting roller 57 is mounted to an end portion of the swing type rotation board 55, which is located on the side opposite to the latch and pawl mechanism 20K, and a positioning lever 63 (corresponding to a movable positioning member), which will be described below, is butted to the contacting roller 57 from upward. A second canceling mechanism is configured by the active lever 50, the swing type rotation board 55 and the positioning lever 63. When the active lever 50 rotates in a counter clockwise direction of
As shown in
As shown in
The push-down piece 61 protrudes toward the pawl 30 from an upper end portion of the opening lever 60. When the open cable 92W is drawn toward the remote control device 91, the opening lever 60 rotates and the push-down piece 61 pushes down the pawl driving lever 33. Consequently, as described above, the pawl 30 moves to the release position and the regulation on the rotation of the latch 20 by the pawl 30 is released.
The positioning lever 63 is provided overlapping the opening lever 60. A linking piece 63T raises from a side edge of the positioning lever 63 and faces one side edge of the opening lever 60 from a lateral direction thereof. When the open cable 92W is drawn toward the remote control device 91 and the opening lever 60 rotates, the linking piece 63T is pushed by the opening lever 60 to rotate the positioning lever 63. Then, the positioning lever 63 moves away from the contacting roller 57. Consequently, as described above, the transmission of the power is shut off from the active lever 50 to the swing type rotation board 55, and the push-up wall 56 of the swing type rotation board 55 becomes unable to push up the latch driving lever 25. In the embodiment, a position where the positioning lever 63 contacts with the contacting roller 57 corresponds to a power transmitting position related to the movable positioning member and a position where the positioning lever 63 is moved away from the contacting roller 57 corresponds to a power shutoff position related to the movable positioning member.
Above the opening lever 60, a release input board 70, a sliding rotation board 75 (corresponding to a sliding rotation portion) and a releasing lever 65 (corresponding to a releasing rotation portion) are rotatably journalled about a common rotational shaft 65J to configure a first canceling mechanism. As shown in
A lower end portion of the first rotation piece 70A is bent to raise toward the mechanical plate 81. As shown in
As shown in
A cancel operating protrusion 75B (corresponding to a cancel operating portion) is provided at the proximal end portion of the sliding rotation board 75 for sliding the sliding rotation board 75 between the power transmitting position to the power shutoff position. The proximal end portion of the sliding rotation board 75 exposes from an outer peripheral portion of the mechanical plate 81 in a lateral direction and the cancel operating protrusion 75B protrudes from the exposed portion. In addition, a connecting rotation protrusion 75A protrudes from the distal end portion of the release input board 70 to a direction that moves away from the mechanical plate 81. The connecting rotation protrusion 75A forms a prismatic shape having a substantially identical width to the elongated hole 70R of the release input board 70 and penetrates through the elongated hole 70R to be received by a crank groove 65R of the releasing lever 65, which is described below.
As shown in
When the power is transmitted from the active lever 50 and the release input board 70 rotates while the connecting rotation protrusion 75A is being received by the outer circular arc groove 65R1, the sliding rotation board 75 rotates unitarily therewith. Then, as show in a change observed from
As shown in
The fully opened door locking device 10C includes a latch and pawl mechanism (not shown) which operates similarly to that of the closed door locking device 10A. Similarly to the closed door locking device 10A, the pawl of the fully opened door looking device 10C is provided with a pawl driving lever and an open cable 94W (refer to
As conceptually shown in
The remote control device 91 is provided with handles 95 which are separately provided at the inside and outside of the slide door 90. The handles 95 are biased to and held to a home position by a second holding spring 97S and a stopper 97T. When the handle 95 is moved in the direction that moves away from the home position against the second holding spring 97S, a handle linked member 97 linked to the handle 95 is moved from the home position and gets beyond a predetermined independent movable range L1 to contact with the remote control rotating lever 98. Then, the handle 95 is moved toward the direction that further moves away from the home position, the handle linked member 97 pushes the remote control rotating lever 98 to rotate. Also, the remote control device 91 is provided with a handle operation detecting sensor 96 for detecting that the handle linked member 97 enters into the solo movable range L1 from the home position. The detection signal of the handle operation detecting sensor 96 is read into the ECU (not shown) provided at the vehicle body 99 as well as the detection signal of the latch position detection sensor 83. The ECU drives the latch driving motor 41M based on the detection signals as detailed below.
The configuration of the embodiment is described above. Next, the effect of the embodiment will be described. When the slide door 90 is closed, each latch 20 of the closed door locking device 10A and the closing device 10D engages with the corresponding strikers 40 and rotates. At the time, if the slide door 90 is closed with a relatively large force to be in the fully closed state, each latch 20 of the closed door locking device 10A and the closing device 10B rotates to the full latched position as respectively shown in
Also, if the slide door 90 is closed with a relatively small force and the door is brought in the half closed state, each latch 20 of the closed door locking device 10A and the closing device 10B rotates to the half-latched position as respectively shown in
Here, if the handle 95 is operated in the process of shifting the slide door 90 from the half-closed state to the fully closed state, then the open cable 92W is drawn to the remote control device 91 and the positioning lever 63 moves away from the contacting roller 57 of the swing type rotation board 55. The transmission of the power is instantly shut off from the active lever 50 to the swing type rotation board 55 by the above-described movement of the positioning lever 63, and the operation for shifting from the half closed state to the fully closed state is cancelled. Also, the opening lever 60 rotates in conjunction with the operation of the handle 95 and the push-down piece 61 of the opening lever 60 pushes down the pawl driving lever 33 of the pawl 30. Thus, even if the pawl 30 of the closing device 10B engages with the latch 20, it is possible for the pawl 30 to move to the release position. Also, the open cable 93W is drawn toward the remote control device 91 by the operation of the handle 95. Thus, the pawl 30 of the closed door locking device 10A moves to the release position and thereby opening the slide door 90.
When the slide door 90 is brought in the fully closed state, the sound-proofing member is strongly pressed between the slide door 90 and the door frame 99W and the respective pawls 30 of the closed door locking device 10A and the closing device 10B frictionally engage with the corresponding latches 20 by the reaction force of the sound-proofing member. Meanwhile, in order to open the slide door 90, it is necessary that the both pawls 30 of the closed door locking device 10A and the closing device 10B move to the release position against the frictional resistance between the pawls 30 and the latches 20, and a large force is required for moving the both pawls 30 to the release positions 30 by the manual operation. However, in the embodiment, if the handle 95 is operated, the handle operation detecting sensor 96 detects whether or not the handle 95 is operated before the frictional resistance between the pawl 30 and the latch 20 is applied to the handle 95. Then, the ECU receives the detected result and rotates the motor output shaft of the latch driving motor 41M in the other direction based on the detected result.
Then, the active lever 50 is rotationally driven in the clockwise direction in
When the slide door 90 is brought in the fully open state, the latch 20 (not shown) of the fully opened door locking device 10C engages with the striker 40 and the pawl 30 frictionally engages with the latch 20. In this case, the open cable 94W is drawn toward the remote control device 91 by operating the handle 95 and the pawl 30 of the fully opened door locking device 10C is moved to the release position by the power of the latch driving motor 41M, thereby closing the slide door 90 easily.
Here, as shown in
As just described, according to the embodiment of the door locking system for the vehicle 10, the latch driving motor 41M is used as two power sources, one is used for shifting the slide door 90 from the half closed state to the fully closed state and the other is used for assisting the handle operation when opening the slide door 90, and thus the manufacturing cost and weight are decreased. Also, when the latch driving motor 41M becomes inoperative while the latch driving motor 41M holds the pawl 30 at the release position, the abnormality is alarmed by the warning light. Thus, it is possible to deal with the abnormality swiftly. In addition to the warning light, a warning beep and an alarm may be employed as the abnormality alarming means.
The present invention is not limited to the aforementioned embodiment. For example, the below-described embodiment may be included in the technical scope of the present invention. Further, in addition to the below-described modification, various changes may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.
(1) The door locking system for the vehicle 10 according to the embodiment is provided with the closed door locking device 10A, the closing device 10B, and the fully opened door locking device 10C. However, as shown in
(2) The door locking system for the vehicle 10 according to the embodiment is mounted to the slide door 90. However, as shown in
(3) In the embodiment, when the latch driving motor 41M abnormally stops, the power transmission system is shut off between the latch driving motor 41M and the pawl 30 by operating the cancel operating protrusion 75B provided at the closing device 10B. However, other configuration may be employed for this function as below. The transmission of the power is retained between the latch driving motor 41M and the pawl 30 while the handle 95 is moving from a starting end portion to a terminal end portion of the movable range thereof, and the transmission of the power is shut off when the handle 95 reaches the terminal end portion of the movable range. Further, the door locking system may be configured so that the power transmission is returned to a transmittable state when the handle 95 returns to the starting end portion of the movable range.
(4) In the embodiment, the cancel operating protrusion 75B, which is operated when the latch driving motor 41M abnormally stops, may be disposed on an inner surface of the slide door 90 facing the inside of the vehicle cabin. For example, the cancel operating protrusion 75B may be disposed on a surface of the door, which faces an inner surface of the door frame, so that the cancel operating protrusion 75B is covered between the door and the vehicle body when the door is closed. So configured, the cancel operating protrusion 75B is not easily recognizable by a person that is not familiar with the purpose of the operation thereof, thus preventing accidental operations.
According to the configuration of the embodiment, the motor output shaft of the latch driving motor 41M rotates in the one direction in the half closed state and shifts the slide door 90 to the completely closed state. Additionally, when the handle 95 is operated in the completely closed state, the motor output shaft of the latch driving motor 41M rotates in the other direction to move the pawl 30 to the release position against the frictional force between the pawl 30 and the latch 20 and thereby opening the slide door 90. As just described, the latch driving motor 41M is used as two power sources, i.e. a power source for shifting the slide door 90 firm the half closed state to the completely closed state and a power source for assisting the operation of the handle 95 to open the slide door 90. Therefore, the manufacturing cost and the weight are decreased. A handle, a wireless remote controller, and the operator's switch and the like may be employed as the lock release operating portion.
According to the configuration of the embodiment, if the latch driving motor 41M stops while holding the pawl 30 at the release position, the power is shut off in the first canceling mechanism and thus the power and the reaction force are shut off from the motor output shaft to the pawl 30 to move the pawl 30 from the release position to the position in which the pawl 30 engages with the latch 20. Thus, the door 90 is locked being in the completely closed state.
According to the above-described configuration of the embodiment, in the case that the latch driving motor 41M operates normally, the sliding rotation board 75 is positioned at the power transmitting position. Then, the connecting rotation protrusion 75A of the sliding rotation board 75 is rotated after receiving the power from the latch driving motor 41M to push the releasing lever 65. Consequently, the releasing lever 65 is rotated to move the pawl 30 to the release position. Also, when the latch driving motor 41 operates abnormally, the slide rotation board 75 is positioned at the power shutoff position. Then, the connecting rotation protrusion 75A is received by the inner circular arc groove 65R2 and relatively rotates therein. Thus, the releasing lever 65 is rotated independently from the slide rotation board 75, and the pawl 30 is moved from the release position to the position that the pawl 30 engages with the latch 20. Thus, the door 90 is locked in the completely closed state.
According to the above-described configuration of the embodiment, the first canceling mechanism is switched between the power transmitting state and the power shutoff state by operating the cancel operating protrusion 75B manually.
According to the above-described configuration of the embodiment, in the case that the latch driving motor 41M operates normally, the pawl 30 is moved to the release position by the power of the latch driving motor 41M while the handle 95 is being moved from the starting end portion before the terminal end portion of the movable range of the handle 95. Also, even if the latch driving motor 41M is abnormally stopped at any position, the first canceling mechanism is switched to the power shutoff state when the handle 95 reaches the terminal end portion of the movable range. Thus, the pawl 30 moves from the release position to the position that the pawl 30 engages with the latch 20 when returning the handle 95 to the staring end portion of the movable range. Therefore, even if the latch driving motor 41M abnormally stops at any position, it is still possible to lock the door in the completely closed state.
According to the configuration, even if the latch driving motor 41M abnormally stops in the condition that the motor output shaft of the latch driving motor 41M is connected to the latch 20 and the latch 20 engages with the striker 40, it is still possible to open the door 90. The second canceling mechanism is switched to the power shutoff state and thus the power and the reaction force is shut off from the motor output shaft to the latch 20. Then, the engagement between the latch 20 and the striker 40 is disengaged when the pawl 30 is moved to the release position.
According to the configuration of the embodiment, the positioning lever 63 is disposed at the position with which the swing type rotation board contacts and positions the one end portion of the swing type rotation board 55 unless the handle 95 is operated. Then, when the latch driving motor 41M rotates the active lever 50, the rotational shaft 55J of the swing type rotation board 55 moves in conjunction with the rotation of the active lever 50. Consequently, the power is transmitted to the latch 20 from the other end of the swing type rotation board 55, and thereby bringing the door 90 from the half closed state to the completely closed state. Also, if the handle 95 is operated, the positioning lever 63 is disposed at a position that the swing type rotation board 55 is released and rotates freely relative to the active lever 50. Consequently, the power is shut off from the other end of the swing type rotation board 55 to the latch 20 and the engagement between the latch 20 and the striker 40 is disengaged. Thus, the door 90 is opened.
When the plural latches 20 and pawls 30 are provided at the single door 90, the fictional resistance increases for moving the pawl 30 to the release position. However, in the configuration according to the embodiment, all pawls 30 are moved to the release position by the latch driving motor 41M.
According to the configuration, the opening and closing operation of the slide door 90 provided with the closing device 10B, which is used for closing the slide door 90 from the half closed state to the completely closed state, and the closed door locking device 10A, which holds the slide door in the completely closed state, is easily carried out by the power of the latch driving motor 41M. Further, the opening and closing operation of the slide door 90 provided with the full-open door locking device 10C, which holds the slide door 90 in the full-open state, is easily carried out by the power of the latch driving motor. Furthermore, the opening and closing operation of the pivotable door 90A provided with the pivotable door locking device 10B2 which holds the pivotable door 90A in the full-open state is carried out by the power of the latch driving motor 41M.
The principles, of the preferred embodiments and mode of operation of the present invention have been described in the foregoing specification. However, the invention, which is intended to be protected, is not to be construed as limited to the particular embodiment disclosed. Further, the embodiment described herein are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Variations and changes may be made by others, and equivalents employed, without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, it is expressly intended that all such variations, changes and equivalents that fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the claims, be embraced thereby.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2006-300208 | Nov 2006 | JP | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
6685239 | Yamauchi et al. | Feb 2004 | B2 |
7445256 | Gotou et al. | Nov 2008 | B2 |
7614670 | Hayakawa et al. | Nov 2009 | B2 |
20010005079 | Takamura | Jun 2001 | A1 |
20060290142 | Tani et al. | Dec 2006 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2001-098819 | Apr 2001 | JP |
2001-182406 | Jul 2001 | JP |
2002-38796 | Feb 2002 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20080105011 A1 | May 2008 | US |