This application is a National Phase Entry of International Application No. PCT/FR2013/051835, filed on Jul. 30, 2013, which claims priority to French Patent Application Serial No. 1258222, filed on Sep. 4, 2012, both of which are incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to the field of electrical devices providing a locking function, such as, for example motorized locks or mechatronic positioning assemblies, having an electrical actuating element and a pivot lever ensuring the locking of the device. The present invention more particularly relates to the behaviour of high security locks, which have a high resistance to mechanical shocks delivered during an external attack of the device. The invention also relates to a mechatronic system having to withstand an external shock or a high frequency vibration, like those which actuators aboard automobiles or airplanes can be subjected to during an accident.
French Patent FR2945065 is known in the prior art, which describes an electronic lock comprising a stator and a rotor mounted to rotate in the stator with a rotor blocking member which can move between a locking position where it is engaged with the rotor to prevent the rotation thereof, and a retracted position where the rotation of the rotor is released. A movable stop can move between a first position where it opposes the movement of the locking member and a second position where the locking member is free to leave its locking position. The mobile stop comprises a permanently magnetized part able to retain the mobile stop in the first position, i.e. resting against a stationary stop without consuming energy when jerks are applied to the lock.
The European patent EP2412901 discloses another exemplary electronic lock, comprising a stator and a rotor, a rotor locking member and a lever which can move between a locking position and an unlocking position. A memorizing arm rotates between a rest and memorizing position, by the action of a magnet. This arm comes in contact with a mechanical stop.
In the electronic lock solutions of the prior art, the locking member is in contact, when at rest as well as in the locked position, with a mechanical stop against which it rests. The untimely unlocking of this member can thus be caused by applying violent or periodic shocks, at a given frequency. The vibrations of the shocks applied to the supporting structure are transmitted to the mobile member by the stop, and the transmitted energy causes the movement of the member and the undesired release of the bolt. The person skilled in the art thus faces a paradoxical situation where the mechanical locking of a locking member must be provided while avoiding any mechanical contact which might cause the transmission of mechanical energy.
The invention, in its broadest sense, relates to a locking device comprising a mobile locking member the movement of which can be prevented by a blocking member interacting with a motorized lever, where the motorized lever is capable of rotational movement about an axis with respect to the supporting structure, with the centre of gravity of said lever being located on said axis, with said lever being kept in a determined stable position and without rigid mechanical contact of the lever with the supporting structure apart from its axis of rotation. The mechanical wave propagating through a structure upon an impact is transferred to the locking lever by the points of mechanical contacts thereof with the stationary supporting structure. The shock wave thus propagates through the pivot axis, on the one hand, and by the catching device (at the aforementioned point of contact) on the other hand. If the device is insensitive to what is transmitted by the axis because of the lever balance, it is, on the contrary, sensitive to the force transmitted to the magnetic catching contact. This can be compared to what happens in Newton's cradle when the end ball is ejected because of the kinetic energy that is transmitted thereto by the dropped ball.
Whatever the catching effort generated between the rotating lever and the supporting structure, a shock having a sufficient intensity to eject the lever from its stable position and thus to unlock the lock may thus always be liable to propagate. The invention thus provides a locking device comprising an electrical actuator moving, within a supporting structure, a locking lever capable of rotational movement about a stationary axis with respect to the supporting structure, with the centre of gravity of said lever being located on said stationary axis, where the lever is held in a determined stable position and, at rest, without rigid mechanical contact of the lever with the supporting structure apart from the connection of its axis of rotation. Within the scope of this patent, “at rest” means the state of the device when locked and when no effort is exerted on any of the components thereof.
The concept of rigid mechanical contact is generally implemented when the lever is in mechanical contact with a rigid part integral with the supporting structure. Such rigid connection then transmits the impact energy to the lever when the supporting structure is hit. On the contrary, the invention eliminates the rigid connection between the supporting structure and the lever to make the lever insensitive to any external shock since the impact energy is never transmitted anywhere but at the centre of gravity of the lever, which does not generate any rotation torque and ensures the holding in position thereof. The stable position is advantageously achieved without any power consumption.
Various embodiments of this function have been considered. The suspension of the lever without any rigid contact can thus be obtained using resilient elements (at least one mechanical spring) or preferably using magnetic elements (a link without magnet/magnet or magnet/ferromagnetic material contact). This suspension may be separate, or integrated in the locking lever actuating means. Such suspension means without rigid contact create a mechanical filter of the “low-pass” type which excludes any transmission of shocks and high frequency vibrations (with respect to the resonance frequency of the device).
In a particular embodiment, the actuator moving the locking lever also provides the magnetic force keeping the position of the lever stable. The invention also aims at providing an actuator for a locking device which drives a locking lever in rotation about a stationary axis, wherein the centre of gravity of the locking lever is held on said stationary axis and in that the actuator comprises at least one magnet and has a variable air gap ensuring a stable position without any power consumption. Advantageously, the air gap is minimum when the lever is in its stable locked position and maximum in the unlocked position.
The relevance of the invention will be better understood when reading the following description of the various figures, which show various possible configurations:
The following description refers to a non-restrictive exemplary embodiment as a lock with a mobile bolt. But the invention is not limited to the embodiment of a lock and extends to any type of locking device comprising a mobile member which can be temporarily immobilized by means of a motorized member interacting with a motorized lever.
The described exemplary embodiments are not restrictive and relate to a lock 1 comprising a supporting structure 3, and a bolt 9 mobile by translation with respect to the supporting structure 3, the movement of which can be blocked by the head of a piston 6 engaging in a housing 10. Such piston 6 is mobile in translation, in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the bolt 9. A spring 16 urges the piston 6 at rest towards the bolt 9, so as to keep the piston head in the position where it is engaged in the housing 10. The piston head 6 has a truncated or conical shape, matching the shape of the housing 10, so that the movement of the bolt 9 pushes the piston 6 back, because of the transverse component (perpendicular to the axis of movement of the bolt 9) of the forces exerted by the inner edge of the housing 10 on the piston head 6.
The lock further comprises a lever 5 which can move between a locking position where it prevents the movement of the piston 6, and thus the disengagement of the head thereof, and an unlocking position which enables the movement of the piston and the release of the bolt 9 when the piston head 6 is fully extended out of the housing 10. The aim of the invention is to prevent shocks exerted on the bolt 9 or any other accessible part of the lock from propagating to the lever 5 with enough energy to cause the untimely movement thereof from the locking position to another position where it would no longer provide the locking of the piston 6 movement.
a, 2b and 2c show a motorized locking device 1 according to a first embodiment. Such lock mechanism comprises a rotating actuator 2, integral with the supporting structure 3, electrically controlled by a polyphase switched motor, a torque motor or still a proportional angular or variable reluctance actuator. The rotor of the actuator 2 is mechanically coupled to the locking lever 5, the design of which enables the latter to clear the passage of a third part (the piston 6 in the drawing) when it has completed the rotational movement generated by the supply of the actuator 2.
The lever 5 has, in association with the rotor of the actuator 2 which it is attached to, a centre of gravity on its axis of rotation 7. According to this embodiment, the lever 5 is made of a ferromagnetic material. The lever 5 is thus sensitive to the magnetic field generated by a polarized (=magnetized) structure 8 integral with the supporting structure 3. The magnetic circuit is so designed that it generates a stable position of the lever in at least one position. Thus, when the actuator 2 is not energized, the rotor assembly is subjected to a magnetic attraction, via the lever 5, which tends to re-position the latter in the vertical stable position. Having several stable positions (locked and unlocked states) is also conceivable in other mechanisms.
From left to right,
It cannot go down because of the presence of the locking lever 5. The piston 6 can engage into the bolt 9 thanks to a housing 10 provided in the bolt 9. Thus, if a force is applied to the bolt 9 so as to make the latter translate, such force is transmitted to the piston 6 according to two components. A horizontal component supported by the supporting structure 3 and, on the other hand, a lower vertical component, transmitted to the locking lever 5. As the lever is in its vertical stable position, it transmits such force to the supporting structure, because of an elastic deformation of the axis which connects it to the motor, or of the support of the actuator 2. Thus, the piston 6 cannot be released from the bolt 9, and the lock is locked.
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Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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12 58222 | Sep 2012 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/FR2013/051835 | 7/30/2013 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2014/037639 | 3/13/2014 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5010750 | Boser | Apr 1991 | A |
5592838 | Clark | Jan 1997 | A |
Number | Date | Country |
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2412901 | Feb 2012 | EP |
2945065 | Nov 2010 | FR |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20150225983 A1 | Aug 2015 | US |