This application is the U.S. national phase of International Application No. PCT/EP2021/050188 filed Jan. 7, 2021, which designated the U.S. and claims priority to FR 2000392 filed Jan. 16, 2020, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The invention relates to the automotive field and concerns an emergency access device associated with a vehicle opening leaf.
In order to allow access to a motor vehicle, for example, opening leafs such as the doors are equipped with access devices. The most common access devices are handles that are mechanically connected to a lock such that actuation of the handle by the user actuates the lock and allows opening.
Furthermore, more advanced access devices currently exist in which no mechanical connection is required for normal operation of the access device. These devices generally comprise a sensor for sensing the presence of the user's hand. If the user is authorized to open the vehicle, for example if he or she is carrying a required fob, the vehicle then actuates an electric strike in the lock of the opening leaf and thus allows access to the vehicle.
These access devices allow a reduction in mass, bulk and cost and also greater ease of use since no physical connection with the lock is necessary in normal operation. However, for safety reasons in particular, these access devices nevertheless require an emergency access device providing a mechanical connection with the lock of the opening leaf in the event of an emergency or of an electrical failure.
Vehicles equipped with access devices having no mechanical connection between the handle of an opening leaf and its lock in normal operation are known. These known devices comprise an emergency access device comprising a mechanical and retractable means for actuating the lock.
The object of the invention is to improve the emergency access devices of the prior art so as to allow opening, in the event of an emergency, of an opening leaf equipped with an access device having no mechanical connection between the handle and the lock of the opening leaf.
To this end, the invention concerns an emergency access device for a vehicle opening leaf, comprising:
The emergency access device according to the invention performs two separate functions, for example within a vehicle:
The emergency access device according to the invention performs these two functions with a small number of parts, thus ensuring reduced bulk and costs and also increased reliability.
Specifically, the electric ejector comprises a single main part such as an electric actuator (an electromagnet, for example), and the mechanical ejector also comprises only a single main part, which is a slider. These two ejectors cooperate with the same retention needle that is designed to block the pull rod in its retracted position or to release it.
The emergency access device according to the invention may comprise the following additional features, on their own or in combination:
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following non-limiting description, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:
The emergency access device 5 is, for example, intended to be housed in an emergency access box (not shown) of a motor vehicle opening leaf. This opening leaf is, for example, a door of the vehicle. This door of the vehicle is furthermore equipped with an access device which opens the lock electrically on the basis of the information from a sensor for sensing the presence of an identified user's hand. The emergency access device 5 housed in the emergency access box is not used in normal operation. This emergency access box is preferably arranged close to the handle.
The body 1 of the emergency access device 5 is preferably concealed in the emergency access box so that only the button 3 protrudes and is accessible to the user.
The emergency access device 5 makes it possible to actuate a lock actuator, which is an opening cable 4 in the present example, by pulling it, in the following two cases:
The exploded view in
The electric ejector consists of the electric actuator 2, which in this case comprises an electromagnet 8 housed in a protective cover 7.
The mechanical ejector is made up of a slider 9 which is mounted inside the body 1.
The pull rod 10 is also housed inside the body 1 and is intended to be handled after it has been ejected from the body 1 following the action of the electric ejector or of the mechanical ejector. The pull rod 10 comprises the button 3 at one of its ends. The cable 4 is threaded into the pull rod 10.
A first spring 11 is designed to apply a load to the pull rod 10 in order for it to be ejected by either the electric ejector or the mechanical ejector.
The device 5 comprises a retention needle 12 for blocking the pull rod 10, this needle 12 being loaded by a second spring 13.
The pull rod 10 is mounted in a sheath 14 of the body 1 so as to slide between a retracted position (shown in
On its outer surface, the pull rod 10 comprises a radial groove 17 formed by a clearance extending in a radial direction of the pull rod. The groove 17 is bounded on one side by an annular stopping surface 18, and on the other side by a conical surface 19.
The pull rod 10 further comprises a longitudinal slot 20 associated with a tongue 21 which is integral with the body 1 and makes it possible to maintain the angular orientation of the pull rod 10 in the sheath 14 while it slides therein. At the opposite end from the button 3, the pull rod 10 comprises a pressure end 22 equipped with a bevel 23.
The needle 12 is mounted so as to be able to move in translation on the body 1 along an axis perpendicular to the axis along which the sheath 14 extends. At one of its ends, the needle 12 comprises a stopping finger 24 designed to be housed in the groove 17 of the pull rod 10.
The needle 12 is also mounted so as to slide in the electromagnet 8 such that electrical activation of the electromagnet 8 causes the needle 12 to be lifted until the end of the needle 12 comes into abutment against the electromagnet 8. The needle 12 is thus movable between a position referred to as the position for releasing the pull rod, where the electromagnet 8 attracts the needle 12, and an opposite extreme position in which the needle 12 is in abutment on the body 1 by means of its flange 25. In the position illustrated in
The second spring 13 is disposed between the electromagnet 8 and the flange 25 so as to urge the needle 12 from its releasing position to its blocking position.
The needle 12 further comprises a stopping shoulder 26 close to the stopping finger 24.
The first spring 11 is mounted in the body 1 such that one of its tabs forms an ejection tab 27 which bears on the pressure end 22 of the pull rod 10 and which elastically urges the pull rod 10 toward its deployed position. In the rest position in
The slider 9 is a part which is movable in translation in the body 1 in a direction parallel to the axis of the sheath 14. The slider 9 comprises a first portion equipped with a first slot 28. The ejection tab passes through the slot 28 and is freely movable in this slot 28 in a direction parallel to the axis of the sheath 14. This slot 28 is bounded by a lateral blocking surface 29 and by a lateral release surface 30 which are designed to cooperate with the ejection tab 27.
The slider 9 also comprises a second portion equipped with a second slot 31 surrounding the needle 12 and comprising a blocking rim 33.
The first function of the device 5, that of implementing the electric ejector, will now be described with reference to
Starting from the rest position in
In accordance with
The pull rod 10 is thus advantageously designed such that its end bearing the button 3 is heavier than its opposite end in order to cause this tilting to the position in
The second function of the emergency access device 5 relating to implementing the mechanical ejector will now be described with reference to
When the user wishes to manually open the door of the vehicle without using the electrical means, he or she pushes the button 3 to the maximum into the sheath 14, as illustrated in
The position illustrated in
During the movement of driving the pull rod 10 into the sheath 14, two operations are performed sequentially:
This final movement of the slider 9 in translation leads the blocking rim 33 of the slider 9 to be positioned under the stopping shoulder 26 of the needle 12 (this cooperation is visible in the magnified circle in
In other words, when the user pushes the button 3 as far as its position in
In the unlocking position in
Starting from the unlocking position in
At the end of the ejection movement, that is to say at the end of the travel of the ejection tab 27, which pushes the pull rod 10 out of the body 11, the ejection tab 27 additionally comes into abutment against the lateral release surface 30 of the slider 9 and then causes the slider 9 to move in translation back toward its position for releasing the needle 12. The needle 12 then returns to its initial blocking position (although the pull rod 10 is no longer inside the sheath 14) under the effect of the second spring 13, resulting in the position in
From the position in
In the position in
The ejection tab 27 comprises a curved portion 34 designed to come into abutment against the body 1 when the device 5 is in the position in
After the emergency access device has been triggered by virtue of the electric ejector and by virtue of the mechanical ejector, the pull rod 10 can be put back into the body 1 by reintroducing this pull rod 10 into the sheath 14 and moving it in translation toward the inside of the body 1 such that the longitudinal slot 20 cooperates with the tongue 21. The bevel 23 on the pressure end 22 forms an oblique path which then pushes the stopping finger 24 of the needle 12 upward. After this lifting movement, the stopping finger 24 then slides over the outer surface of the pull rod 10 until it is inserted into the groove 17 under the effect of the second spring 13. The device 5 is then in its rest position in
The spring 11 and its ejection tab 27 thus perform four functions:
Variant embodiments of the emergency access device may be implemented without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the pull rod 10 may have a square or rectangular cross section, meaning that the tongue 21 and the slot 20 are then not required.
Moreover, the electric ejector may comprise any other alternative means for electrically controlling the movement of the needle 12, for example an electric motor and a suitable gear set.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2000392 | Jan 2020 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2021/050188 | 1/7/2021 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2021/144190 | 7/22/2021 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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10767402 | Hoffmann et al. | Sep 2020 | B2 |
20050034493 | Wittwer et al. | Feb 2005 | A1 |
20160305164 | Bendel | Oct 2016 | A1 |
20190169889 | Beck | Jun 2019 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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102022047 | Apr 2011 | CN |
107787389 | Mar 2018 | CN |
110499970 | Nov 2019 | CN |
2 971 536 | Aug 2012 | FR |
2015062586 | May 2015 | WO |
2018024405 | Feb 2018 | WO |
Entry |
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Office Action issued in Chinese Patent Application No. 202180009349.X dated Feb. 9, 2023. |
International Search Report dated Apr. 15, 2021, for PCT/EP2020/050188 (5 pp., including English translation). |
Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority dated Apr. 15, 2021, for PCT/EP2020/050188 (7 pp.). |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20230358081 A1 | Nov 2023 | US |