The invention relates to motor vehicle door handles.
Vehicle door handles equipped with an inertial-mass safety device which, in the event of an accident, prevent the door from opening under the effect of the deceleration experienced by the graspable part of the handle, are known. Document EP-1 556 569 thus discloses a pendulum mechanism which allows the door to be unlocked and opened when the user grasps hold of the graspable part of the external handle but which prevents this opening under the effect of the unwanted deceleration of the graspable part of the handle, a flyweight of the pendulum indeed through inertia causing the pendulum to be placed in a safety door-locking position.
Inertial-mass safety devices do, however, have their disadvantages. They require in-depth calculations for sizing the flyweight. In addition, they make the development of new vehicle handles more complicated. These mechanism also lengthen the time taken to assemble the handle and make it more difficult to standardize this handle for incorporation into various projects.
This is why vehicle door safety devices that do not have an inertial mass mechanism have been proposed. Such for example is the subject matter of document EP 1 950 366. In the latter, the graspable part of the handle comprises a catch which, for opening, causes two elements of the door unlocking drive train to engage with one another. Thus, when the user seizes hold of the graspable part of the handle, he brings the elements of the drive train into engagement and this allows the door to be unlocked and opened. In the event of a collision involving the vehicle, even if the graspable part of the handle moves through an inertial effect, the catch is not actuated. As the components are not engaged with one another, the drive train remains interrupted which means that the movement of the graspable part of the handle occurs without unlocking the door.
It is an object of the invention to propose a handle of a different type but which can likewise be free of any inertial mass.
To this end, the invention provides a vehicle door handle, which comprises:
Thus, unlike the principle adopted in document EP 1 950 366, safety is afforded not by interrupting the drive train in the rest position but through the fact that this drive train is immobilized, by the blocking of the actuator, in the rest position. When the time comes to unlock the door, the blocking of the actuator is terminated so that the drive train can act in the normal way. This arrangement likewise makes it possible to dispense with the need for an inertial mass. Further, it can be produced in a fairly compact and easy to assemble form. It operates reliably under all circumstances and can readily be standardized for fitting to various projects.
The handle according to the invention may further exhibit at least any one of the following features:
Other features and advantages of the invention will become further apparent from the following description of one embodiment which is given by way of nonlimiting example with reference to the attached drawings in which:
The figures illustrate a handle 2 for a door of a land motor vehicle such as a passenger car. The door is, for example, a front side door providing access to the passenger compartment so that somebody can get into it. The orthogonal frame of reference X, Y, Z is used in what follows, X denoting the horizontal longitudinal direction of the vehicle corresponding to its direction of travel, Y corresponding to the transverse horizontal direction and Z corresponding to the vertical direction. The door extends mainly in the X and Z directions.
The handle 2 comprises an external graspable part of the handle 4 intended to be operated directly by a user from outside the door in order to unlock the latter and open it.
The graspable part of the handle 4 is of a shape that is elongate in the X direction. The graspable part of the handle has, facing the door, an internal face 8 of flat shape substantially corresponding to the external face of the door and extending chiefly in a plane parallel to the X and Z directions. The face 8 is hollowed so as to create in the graspable part of the handle a window 10 that passes right through this handle in the Z direction and gives the graspable part of the handle the overall shape of an arch that is flattened in the Y direction. The graspable part of the handle 4 is mounted such that it can rotate on a supporting structure of the handle or of the door about a vertical axis 6 in this instance situated at the end of the graspable part of the handle that lies furthest to the rear in the X direction and with reference to the direction of travel of the vehicle. To unlock the door, the user causes the graspable part of the handle to turn in the direction of arrow 12 to pull it away from the door. The graspable part of the handle 4 is illustrated in its rest position in the figures, it being returned to that position by means of a return spring that has not been depicted.
The graspable part of the handle 4, at its opposite longitudinal end to the axis 6, has an arm 14 that is elongate in the Y direction toward the door. This arm is of one piece with the main external body of the graspable part of the handle and at its free end has a hook 16 formed by a continuation of this end in the X direction toward the axis X and by a cavity 18.
The handle 2 further comprises an unlocking actuator 20 in the form of a transmission lever mounted such that it can rotate with respect to the supporting structure of the handle and of the door about an axis 22 which, in this instance, is horizontal and parallel to the X direction. The lever 20 is mounted such that it can move between a rest position, illustrated in the figures, in which it does not command unlocking, and an active position in which it commands unlocking. The lever 20 is returned to the rest position by means of a spring 24, in this instance a coil spring coaxial with the axis 22, resting firstly against the lever and secondly against the supporting structure.
The handle comprises a cable, not illustrated, by means of which the lever is connected, downstream of the handle drive train, to the other members thereof so that the cable can transmit an unlocking command originating from the lever.
The lever 20 comprises a continuation 26 extending from a core 21 of the lever in an arc of a circle situated in a plane parallel to the Y and Z directions and having an axis 33 parallel to the axis 22. This continuation forms a hook engaged in the hook belonging to the arm 14 and in the cavity 18.
The continuation 26 has a circumferential face 28 in the shape of a cylinder of circular cross section in a plane perpendicular to the X direction. This face has an orifice 30 of cylindrical shape extending along an axis 31 that is radial with respect to the axis 23 and parallel to the Y direction.
The handle 2 further comprises an unblocking control member 32 part of which extends into the graspable part of the handle 4 and the other part of which extends into the window 10, being visible therein in the figures. This unblocking control member 31 here forms a catch. The catch is mounted so that it can rotate, with respect to the graspable part of the handle 4, about a vertical axis 34. The catch 32 is illustrated in the rest position in
The catch comprises a blocking finger 36 forming a bolt and extending through the arm 14 and as far as into the cavity 18. The bolt 36 is connected to a main body 37 of the catch 32 so as to be able to slide in a horizontal direction parallel to the Y direction and coincident with the axis 31 of the orifice 30 when the lever 20 is in the rest position. In the rest position, as illustrated in
The other parts of the handle, notably those situated downstream of the drive train, are of a conventional type.
The handle 2 works as follows.
In the handle rest position, the components occupy their rest position illustrated in
In order to open the door, with reference to
The handle according to the invention does not require the installation of an inertial mass, which is in fact absent in this embodiment.
Of course, numerous modifications could be made to the invention without departing from the scope thereof.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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MI2010A0723 | Apr 2010 | IT | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP2011/056365 | 4/20/2011 | WO | 00 | 4/8/2013 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2011/134874 | 11/3/2011 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2219626 | Johnson | Oct 1940 | A |
7152893 | Pudney | Dec 2006 | B2 |
7431357 | Pudney | Oct 2008 | B2 |
20030001399 | Sato | Jan 2003 | A1 |
20070080547 | Lee | Apr 2007 | A1 |
20070294861 | Cummins et al. | Dec 2007 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
196 42 698 | Apr 1998 | DE |
1 556 569 | Jul 2005 | EP |
1 586 726 | Oct 2005 | EP |
1 950 366 | Jul 2008 | EP |
2462471 | Feb 2010 | GB |
2010069787 | Jun 2010 | WO |
Entry |
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International Search Report w/translation issued in PCT/EP2011/056365 mailed Jul. 15, 2011 (6 pages) |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20130187394 A1 | Jul 2013 | US |