The present invention concerns a latch for a motor vehicle door leaf.
A motor vehicle latch is intended to be mounted on a motor vehicle door leaf and typically includes a bolt intended to pivot about a strike fastened on the structure of the motor vehicle in order to ensure the closure of the door leaf. The opening of the door leaf is carried out by a rotation of the bolt in the opposite direction. Under normal conditions of use, the rotation in the opposite direction, called opening direction of the door leaf, is performed by the displacement of the outer handle which is connected to the latch by a control means which acts on an opening lever called outer opening lever in order to pivot said opening lever, which, in turn, releases the bolt via a hooking device in the desired direction. Said rotation in the opposite direction may also be made by the rotation of the inner handle which is connected to the latch by a control means which acts on an opening lever, called inner opening lever. The rotation of said inner opening lever generates the rotation of another lever called intermediate lever which pivots and releases in turn the bolt via a hooking device in the desired direction.
Here, the term outer handle means a handle disposed on the door leaf of the motor vehicle which can be actuated by a user located outside the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle.
Here, the term inner handle means a handle disposed on the door leaf of the motor vehicle which can be actuated by a user located inside the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle.
Here, the term outer opening lever means the lever allowing the opening the latch which is driven in displacement by the action of a user on the outer handle.
Here, the term intermediate opening lever means the lever allowing the opening the latch which is controlled by the displacement of the opening lever called inner opening lever, which is itself driven in displacement by the action of a user on the inner handle.
However, in case of a lateral shock, the inertial force exerted on the door leaf may exert a sufficient traction force on a control means and act on an opening lever to control the opening of the latch and therefore the release of the door leaf, in particular on the outer opening lever.
In order to avoid this, there are latches configured not to have movement of kinematics during a shock or to inhibit the effect of the movement.
Thus, blocking solutions of the kinematic chain by resistive effort are proposed, such as the springs, or by blocking. This last solution allows a better robustness of the latch vis-à-vis the different families of shock.
The latch blocking may be made by an external obstacle generating a deformation due to a temporary or permanent inertial movement, with a possibility of resetting to the post-shock state in this last case
The blocking by an external obstacle is typically made by a system which intervenes by deformation of the door. If a deformation is greater than a threshold value, therefore there is an external obstacle which blocks the movement of the opening chain.
The blocking instruction typically comes from a deformation of the sheet metal of the vehicle. The deformation of this sheet metal will position an obstacle belonging either to the latch, or to the sheet metal workshop, facing the outer opening lever. Since the lever intervenes directly in the opening of the latch, said opening may not be done.
However, such a system requires an adaptation to the geometry of the door, a deformation of said door, an insensitivity to the movement of the handle and the impossibility of opening of the door after the shock.
There is the temporary blocking by inertial movement made by a system which reacts to an abnormal acceleration of the latch. If the value and the duration of the acceleration are greater than a threshold value, therefore a connecting rod is displaced to block the opening or to disengage the movement.
In these designs, a locking wedge with spring is typically hooked to the outer opening lever. An inertial effort displaces said wedge on the side during the movement of said lever. A chute receives the wedge and prevents it from redescending as long as the outer opening lever is activated. Since the outer opening lever is not able to be activated, there is no opening.
However, this system requires a good knowledge of the shock, in particular of the movement of the handle in case of shocks, a certain synchronization of the adjusting movements and a certain insensitivity to the movement of the outer opening lever.
An aim of the invention is to propose a latch for a motor vehicle which allows preventing the outer or inner opening under the effect of an inertial force, whether it is single or multiple, applied to the latch during a car accident, while allowing, once the inertial force becomes zero again, the reopening of the latch without having the drawbacks of the prior art.
To this end, the object of the invention is a latch for a motor vehicle door leaf including a latch for a motor vehicle door leaf including:
The latch of the present invention thus allows having an effective blocking of the door and preventing the opening of the latch for a movement of one of the opening levers. Said latch also has the advantage of being able to reset the blocking system to the initial position under the effect of a simple traction operation of the opening lever not intended to be blocked by the blocking means after the shock.
Such a blocking system is advantageously independent of the geometry of the door, of the movement of the handle and of the type of shock, does not generate a stress on the kinematic chain, does not require delicate adjustment and is independent of the geometrical constraints.
According to preferred embodiments, the latch for a motor vehicle according to the invention comprises one or several of the following features, taken separately or in combination:
The object of the invention is also a motor vehicle including a door leaf and a latch intended to open and close said door leaf.
Other advantages and features will appear upon reading the description of the invention given by way of example, as well as in the appended figures in which:
The latch of the invention includes two types of opening lever: an inner opening lever and an outer opening lever. The outer opening lever is connected via a cable, such as the Bowden cable, or a rod to the outer handle. The inner opening lever is connected via another cable to the inner handle. Said inner opening lever is also connected via one or several member(s) to an intermediate opening lever which allows the opening of the latch.
As represented in
In this
As schematically represented in
In the embodiment represented in the figures, the opening lever 10A is the outer opening lever connected to the outer handle of the door leaf 2 via the Bowden cable 7. The opening lever 10B is the intermediate opening lever connected directly or indirectly to the inner handle of the door leaf 2 via a cable or a rod (not represented).
It is possible to consider another configuration with the intermediate opening lever intended to be blocked and the outer opening lever intended not to be blocked.
In any case, when one of the outer or intermediate opening levers, is blocked by the blocking means, the latch cannot open under the effect of the shock.
As visible in
In order to improve the return of the blocking means 12 from the blocking position to the rest position, the opening lever 10A may further include a drive means, such as a first stop (not represented) to accompany the blocking means 12 from the active position to the rest position if the outer opening lever 10A is driven by action on the outer handle towards the direction of the opening of the door leaf 2.
In a first variant of the solution represented in
In both cases, the cam 11A may have a bearing surface capable of making contact with the blocking means 12 so as to drive said blocking means into the rest position and to reset the elastic return means 14.
The protuberance 13 of the cam 11A may have a hook-type shape formed by a stop of a structure defining a reinforcement intended to receive a portion 15 of a blocking means 12 when said blocking means portion is in the active blocking position so as to block the movement of the opening lever 10.
The trigger means 16 and the blocking means 12 may be each movable in rotation or in translation. Within the scope of the described examples, the trigger means 16 is movable in translation, in particular along an axis substantially collinear with the plane formed by the cams 11A and 11B. The blocking means 12 is movable in rotation along an axis of rotation 17 substantially collinear to the axis of rotation 8 of the cams 11A and 11B.
Any other combination is conceivable.
The trigger means 16 is accordingly configured so as to block any movement of the blocking means 12. For this purpose, the trigger means 16 may include a holding protuberance 18 coming substantially in or on a complementary notch 20 present in the blocking means 12. This geometry allows avoiding the manufacturing clearances of the blocking means and the triggering means. In the rest position of the trigger means 16 and the blocking means 12, the elastic return blocking means 14 exerts a permanent torque on the holding protuberance 18 which tends to raise the blocking means 12 towards the blocking position.
The trigger means may be made in the shape of a single part or of a multitude of parts.
The trigger means 16 may also be associated to an elastic return unblocking means of its own, such as a compression spring 24, which allows a movement in translation of said trigger means 16. The elastic return unblocking means 24 associated to the trigger means 16 is fastened on a fixed portion of the latch 1of the invention. The assembly formed by the trigger means 16 and the associated elastic return means 24 are disposed so as to be moved as a result of the resulting inertial force of the lateral shock undergone by the latch 1 of the invention. In other words, in order to move the trigger means 16 and the blocking means 12, it is necessary that the inertial force in case of shock undergone by the door leaf is greater than the stiffness of the elastic return means 24.
Said elastic return unblocking means 24 thus allows said trigger means 16 to hold the blocking means 12 in the rest position. In case of shock along the direction 3, said elastic return unblocking means, such as the spring 24, is then compressed, driving the trigger means 16 and releasing the blocking means 12. The trigger means 16 then reaches the active unblocking position, thanks to the spring 24.
The blocking means 12 and an opening lever not blocked by the blocking means in the blocking position 10, as here the outer opening lever 10B cooperate so as to bring the blocking means 12 from the active blocking position to the rest position when said opening lever 10B pivots towards the direction of the opening of the door leaf 2.
Advantageously, the blocking means 12 and the opening lever intended not to be blocked, in particular the intermediate opening lever 10B, cooperate by the contact with a protuberance 30 belonging to the blocking means 12 on the cam 11B of the opening lever intended not to be blocked. In a variant, the protuberance 30 belongs to one of the opening levers 10A or 10B, in particular the intermediate opening lever 10B.
According to yet another variant, the protuberance 30 belongs to a member distinct from the blocking means 12 and the openings levers 10A and 10B. In this case, said distinct member may include an arm in order to relay the movement undergone by the protuberance 30 to the blocking means 12.
The protuberance 30 thus allows putting the blocking means 12 into the rest position from the blocking position by compressing the elastic return blocking means 14. In a variant exposed hereinafter, the opening lever 10A intended to be blocked may assist in resetting in the rest position by resetting itself said elastic return blocking means 14.
Thus, a portion of the protuberance 30 bears on the cam 11B which, when it pivots about its axis of rotation 8, pushes the protuberance 30 and thus the blocking means towards the rest position, namely to the holding position in the trigger 16.
The protuberance 30 may be made in one-piece part or not with the blocking means 12.
It is also possible that the cam 11B of the intermediate opening lever carries the protuberance 30 which bears on a surface of the blocking means configured to allow the driving of the blocking means from the blocking position to the rest position.
The blocking means 12 is also associated to the elastic return blocking means 14 which may be in the shape of one or several spring(s), in particular in the shape of a spiral spring. In this last case, the spiral spring has an axis of rotation substantially coincident with the axis of rotation of the blocking means 12. The elastic return blocking means 14 is configured so as to work by bringing the blocking means 12 from the rest position to the active blocking position in case of release of said blocking means 12 by the trigger means 16.
One of the opening levers, or even the two opening levers, may include a contact surface, in particular a stop (not represented), capable of receiving the end of the elastic return blocking means 14 and of driving said end so as to reset the elastic return means 14 in the working position. In the case where a single lever includes this stop, said lever may be the outer opening lever which allows resetting the elastic return blocking means 14 in compression after the outer handle is actuated.
According to the embodiment of
The blocking means 12 may also have a ramp 34 formed on the stop 32 so as to allow the positioning of the end 28 under the stop 32 in the case where the elastic return means 14 is reset in compression by one of the levers.
The switch from the active blocking position to the rest position may thus be assisted under the effect of its own weight or assisted by the torque generated by the flexible lug 12a. The return of the blocking means 12 from the blocking position to the rest position may also be accompanied by the resetting of the elastic return blocking means 14. To this end, the blocking means 12 includes at least one elastic arm 39 configured to modify the length of the blocking means 12. Said elongation of the blocking means 12 allows releasing the elastic return blocking means 14 relative to the stop 32. The elastic return blocking means 14 then no longer exerts a torque on the blocking means 12. Said elongation of the elastic arm(s) may be carried out when the blocking means 12 switches from the active blocking position to the rest position, in particular when said blocking means undergoes a significant traction of the opening lever 10 higher than a door opening normal traction by a user.
Each elastic arm 39 has deformation features allowing regaining their original shape after the elongation in the blocking position of the blocking means 12. Consequently, in order to take the end 28 out of the elastic return blocking means, it is appropriate to exert a traction on the outer opening lever 10A greater than the stiffness corresponding to the sum of that of each elastic arm 39.
Thus, in the active blocking position, when the outer opening lever 10A pivots towards the opening direction, namely when a user acts on the cable or a rod driving said lever to open the door leaf 2, a pressure is exerted on the blocking means at the protuberance(s) of the cam 11A holding the elastic arm(s) 39. Since the length of the blocking means 12 is larger, the end 28 of the elastic return means is released from the stop 32. The resetting is therefore performed thanks to the stop 13 belonging to the opening lever 10 which puts said end 28 back under the stop 32 by passing through the ramp 34.
In all cases, the switch from the blocking position to the rest position is ensured by the cooperation between the blocking means 12, via the protuberance 30, and the intermediate opening lever 10B intended not to be blocked. The outer opening lever intended to be blocked only provides assistance in resetting in the rest position.
The blocking means 12 may be in permanent contact with the opening lever not intended to be blocked, here the intermediate opening lever 10B in the rest position, or else at a distance from said opening lever not intended to be blocked such that at each rotation of said lever in the direction of the opening of the door leaf, the elastic return means 14 is compressed. Thus, any blocking of the blocking means due to the aging of the latch is prevented. This permanent contact in the rest position, may advantageously be carried out by the protuberance 30 on the cam 11B of the opening lever.
The blocking means 12 may be made of a flexible material, such as an acetal resin, in order to authorize the deformation and the elongation. The trigger member will be made of the material which will allow reaching the desired mass for the inertial triggering.
The kinematics following a lateral shock, for example the shock along the direction 3, will now be described in more detail.
In the embodiment represented in
In this position, the holding protuberance 18 of the triggering means is blocked in the notch 20.
The elastic return means 14 holds the blocking means 12 bearing against said trigger means 16.
In the embodiment represented in
The protuberance 30 is spaced from the two opening levers 10A and 10B.
Each opening lever, in particular the outer opening lever 10A which is directly connected to the outer handle which undergoes the lateral shock 3, may be subjected to an acceleration. Said outer opening lever 10A may therefore start a rotation under the influence of a traction of the Bowden cable 7 and risk opening the door leaf 2.
According to the embodiment represented in
If the shock 3 induces oscillations tending to pivot the outer opening lever 10A in the direction of the opening of the door leaf 2, said oscillations typically have an intensity lower than the stiffness of the elastic arms 39, if the blocking means 12 includes them, in any case, than the stiffness of the elastic return means 14, so that the blocking means 12 remains in the blocking position.
According to the embodiment of
In order to disengage the blocking means 12 from the blocking position thereof and to bring it back to the rest position in the trigger 16, an action, such as a traction, is imposed to the control means 13 of the intermediate opening lever 10B. Thus, the cam 11B pivots about its axis of rotation 8 and bears on the protuberance 30.
As represented in
As represented in
Thus, advantageously, the latch of the invention includes a phase in which the triggering member which releases the blocking means member is triggered under the impulse of an inertial effort, a blocking principle, which prevents the opening by blocking the outer opening lever and a principle of resetting in the rest position by actuating the inner handle.
Furthermore, the invention allows putting the blocking means in torsion or in moment in order to prevent the seizure of the blocking device of the levers.
The latch of the invention has the following advantages:
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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14307094.4 | Dec 2014 | EP | regional |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2015/080169 | 12/17/2015 | WO | 00 |