Information
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Patent Grant
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6565132
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Patent Number
6,565,132
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Date Filed
Thursday, June 28, 200123 years ago
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Date Issued
Tuesday, May 20, 200321 years ago
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Inventors
-
Original Assignees
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Examiners
- Swann; J. J.
- Melwani; Dinesh N
Agents
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CPC
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US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 292 216
- 292 201
- 292 DIG 43
- 049 229
- 049 280
- 070 237
- 070 264
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International Classifications
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Abstract
A vehicle closure has a power operated vehicle compartment latch that includes a fork bolt, a detent lever having a release tab and a stop tab, and an eccentric post on an electric motor driven wheel. The detent lever is driven to a release position by the motor via the post and the release tab to unlatch the vehicle closure. The post engages the stop tab to stall the electric motor after the detent is driven to the release position which allows the fork bolt to move to an open or unlatch position. The stop tab is disabled when the fork bolt is moved to the latch position.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a vehicle compartment latch and more particularly to a power operated compartment latch for latching a vehicle compartment closure, such as a trunk deck lid or a cargo lift gate, in the closed position to secure the vehicle compartment.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Passenger vehicles are normally equipped with a rear vehicle compartment for storing a spare tire and transporting items such as groceries and luggage. A conventional passenger vehicle has a trunk that is closed by a deck lid that is hinged to the vehicle body and swings open to provide access to the trunk. On the other hand, a passenger van has a rear cargo compartment that is closed by a lift gate. The deck lid or lift gate is usually equipped with a compartment latch that cooperates with a striker attached to the vehicle body to latch the closure (e.g. deck lid or lift gate) in the closed position.
In order to open the vehicle closure, the compartment latch must be unlatched or opened. Nearly all installations include a key lock cylinder or some other means for unlatching the compartment latch manually. However, power operated compartment latches that can be unlatched electrically by a switch inside the passenger compartment or by a key fob are becoming very popular.
In the past, power operated compartment latches have required either a reversible electric motor or a massive return spring to restore the compartment latch to an open position after a power unlatching operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,868 granted to Lloyd Rogers Jr., et al Jun. 20, 2000 discloses an improved power operated vehicle compartment latch that does not require either a reversible electric motor or a massive return spring.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides a still further improved power operated vehicle compartment latch that does not require either a reversible electric motor or a massive return spring to restore the compartment latch to an open position.
The power operated vehicle compartment latch has a support that is adapted for fastening to a closure, a fork bolt that moves between an open position and a closed position, and a detent lever that moves between a detent position and a release position. The detent lever retains the fork bolt in the closed position when in the detent position and releases the fork bolt for return to the open position when in the release position. The detent lever has a release tab and a stop tab. A power unit that is mounted on the support, rotates a wheel that carries an eccentric post that moves in a circular path as the wheel rotates. When the power unit is activated, the eccentric post engages and moves the release tab moving the detent lever to the release position so that the fork bolt can move to the open position. After the detent lever is moved to the release position, the eccentric post engages the stop tab to deactivate the power unit. The stop tab is disabled when the fork bolt and detent lever are moved to the respective closed and detent positions. The vehicle compartment latch is now set for power unlatching.
The power operated vehicle compartment latch is preferably powered by a unidirectional electric motor that is preferably shut off by stalling the electric motor.
The fork bolt and detent lever of the power operated vehicle compartment latch are preferably biased to respective latched and detent positions by a single spring.
These and other features, objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The presently preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the following description and in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1
is a rear view of a vehicle having a closure that is equipped with a vehicle compartment latch of the invention showing the parts of the vehicle compartment latch in the open or unlatched position, and
FIG. 2
is a rear view of the vehicle of
FIG. 1
showing the parts of the vehicle closure latch in the closed or latched position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Vehicle compartment latch
10
comprises a housing or support
12
that is adapted for fastening to a vehicle compartment closure, such as a trunk compartment deck lid
14
, and a fork bolt
16
that pivots on support
12
about pivot pin
18
between an open or unlatched position shown in
FIG. 1 and a
closed or latched position shown in FIG.
2
. Vehicle compartment latch
10
is attached to deck lid
14
so that fork bolt
16
is moved from the open position shown in
FIG. 1
to the closed position shown in
FIG. 2
when deck lid
14
is closed and fork bolt
16
engages a striker
20
that is attached to the vehicle body
22
at the deck lid opening. The cooperation of a fork bolt and striker is well known and need not be described in detail.
Vehicle compartment latch
10
further comprises a detent lever
24
that pivots on support
12
about pivot pin
26
and cooperates with fork bolt
16
in a well known manner to retain fork bolt
16
in the closed position shown in
FIG. 2
or release the fork bolt
16
for return to the open position shown in FIG.
1
. That is, detent lever
24
pivots between a detent position shown in
FIG. 2 and a
release position shown in FIG.
1
. Fork bolt
16
is spring biased clockwise to the open position shown in
FIG. 1
by coil spring
28
that has one end attached to fork bolt
16
and the other end attached to detent lever
24
. Thus coil spring
28
also spring biases detent lever
24
counterclockwise against face
30
of fork bolt
16
as shown in FIG.
1
and toward the detent position shown in
FIG. 2
where detent lever
24
engages latch shoulder
32
of fork bolt
16
.
Detent lever
24
includes a release tab
34
and a stop tab
36
that project rearwardly, that is into the plane of the paper as viewed in
FIGS. 1 and 2
. Release tab
34
and stop tab
36
control the movements of detent lever
24
by a power unit
25
as explained below.
Power unit
25
includes a unidirectional electric motor
38
mounted on support
12
that drives a worm gear (not shown) that in turn drives a gear wheel
42
that rotates on pivot pin
44
of support
12
. Gear wheel
42
carries an eccentric post
46
that moves in a concentric circular path as gear wheel
42
rotates on support
12
. Post
46
cooperates with release tab
34
and stop tab
36
as explained below.
Vehicle compartment latch
10
operates in the following manner.
FIG. 1
shows deck lid
14
open with fork bolt
16
in the open or unlatched position and detent lever
24
in the release position. Post
46
engages stop tab
36
. When deck lid
14
is closed, fork bolt
16
engages striker
20
and fork bolt
16
is pivoted counterclockwise by the closing deck lid
14
from the open or unlatched position shown in
FIG. 1
to the closed or latched position trapping striker
20
in the compartment latch
10
as shown in FIG.
2
. As forkbolt
16
pivots to the closed position face
30
of fork bolt
16
rides along ramp
31
of detent lever
24
. When fork bolt
16
reaches the latched position of
FIG. 2
, detent lever
24
is pivoted counterclockwise by coil spring
28
moving catch surface
33
into engagement with latch shoulder
32
. When detent lever
24
pivots to the latched position of
FIG. 2
, stop tab
36
is moved out of the circular path of travel of post
46
. Post
46
, however, remains in position A shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2
. Vehicle compartment latch
10
is now ready for a power release by power unit
25
.
Vehicle compartment latch
10
is power released by energizing electric motor
38
which turns gear wheel
42
clockwise so that post
46
travels clockwise in a concentric circular path about pivot pin
44
from position A shown in
FIG. 2
to position B by-passing stop tab
36
and into engagement with release tab
34
. As gear wheel
42
continues turning, post
46
pushes release tab
34
in a clockwise direction pivoting detent lever
24
clockwise to the release position shown in
FIG. 1
where stop tab
36
is moved into the circular path of travel of post
46
. Fork bolt
16
is now free to rotate clockwise and deck lid
14
is opened a given amount by the bias of coil spring
28
and the pressure of the deck lid seal (not shown). These opening forces open deck lid
14
enough to withdraw striker
20
so that fork bolt
16
pivots clockwise back to the open or unlatched position shown in
FIG. 1
under the bias of coil spring
28
. As fork bolt
16
rotates clockwise to the open position of
FIG. 1
face
30
slides along ramp
31
to hold detent lever
24
in the release position which moves stop tab
36
back into the circular path of movement of post
46
. In the meantime, post
46
continues to travel with gear wheel
34
past release tab
34
and back around to position A engaging stop tab
36
and stalling electric motor
38
. The parts are now in the open or unlatched position shown in FIG.
1
and the vehicle compartment latch
10
is ready for latching engagement with striker
20
when deck lid
14
is closed as described above.
While the compartment latch of our invention has been described in connection with deck lid
14
, the compartment latch can be used with other compartment closures such as a van lift gate. In other words, many modifications and variations of the present invention in light of the above teachings may be made. It is, therefore, to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.
Claims
- 1. A power operated vehicle compartment latch comprising:a support that is adapted for fastening to a closure, a fork bolt that moves between an open position and a closed position, a detent lever that moves between a detent position and a release position, the detent lever retaining the fork bolt in the closed position when in the detent position and releasing the fork bolt for return to the open position when in the release position, the detent lever having a release tab and a stop tab that is spaced from the release tab, a power unit mounted on the support, the power unit including a wheel that rotates on the support and that carries an eccentric post that moves in a circular path as the wheel rotates, and the release tab being in the circular path of the eccentric post and the stop tab being radially outward of the circular path of the eccentric post when the fork bolt is in the closed position and the detent lever is in the detent position, the eccentric post engaging and moving the release tab to move the detent lever to the release position so that the fork bolt can move to the open position when the wheel is rotated, and the detent lever moving the stop tab into the circular path of the eccentric post when the detent lever is moved to the release position, so that the eccentric post disengages the release tab and then engages the stop tab to stop the wheel.
- 2. The power operated vehicle compartment latch as defined in claim 1 wherein the fork bolt is biased toward the open position and the detent lever is biased into engagement with the fork bolt so that the fork bolt engages the detent lever and holds the detent lever in the release position after the detent lever is moved to the release position by the eccentric post.
- 3. A power operated vehicle compartment latch comprising:a support that is adapted for fastening to a vehicle closure, a fork bolt that pivots on the support between an open position and a closed position, the fork bolt being moved from the open position to the closed position when the closure vehicle is closed, a detent lever that pivots on the support between a detent position and a release position, the detent lever retaining the fork bolt in the closed position when in the detent position and releasing the fork bolt for return to the open position when in the release position, the fork bolt being spring biased to the open position and the detent lever being spring biased to the detent position, so that detent lever rides on a surface of the fork bolt and engages a latch shoulder of the fork bolt when the fork bolt is moved to the closed position, the detent lever having a release tab and a stop tab that is spaced from the release tab, a power unit including an electric motor mounted on the support, a gear wheel that rotates on the support and that is driven by the electric motor, an eccentric post carried by the gear wheel that moves in a circular path as the gear wheel rotates, the release tab being in the circular path of eccentric post and the stop tab being radically outward of the circular path of the eccentric post when the fork bolt is in the closed position and the detent lever is in the detent position, the eccentric post engaging and moving the release tab to move the detent lever to the release position so that the fork bolt can move to the open position when the wheel is rotated, and the detent lever moving the stop tab into the circular path of the eccentric post when the detent lever is moved to the release position so that the eccentric post disengages the release tab and then engages the stop tab to stall the electric motor.
- 4. The power operated vehicle compartment latch as defined in claim 3 wherein the detent lever rides on the surface of the fork bolt when the fork bolt is moved to the open position so that the detent lever is held in the release position by the fork bolt after the detent lever is moved to the release position by the eccentric post.
- 5. A power operated vehicle compartment latch comprising:a support that is adapted for fastening to a vehicle closure, a fork bolt that pivots about a first pivot pin of the support between an open position and a closed position, the fork bolt being moved from the open position to the closed position when the vehicle closure is closed and the fork bolt engages a striker that is attached to the vehicle at the vehicle closure opening, a detent lever that pivots about a second pivot pin of the support between a detent position and a release position, the detent lever retaining the fork bolt in the closed position when in the detent position and releasing the fork bolt for return to the open position when in the release position, a coil spring that is attached to the fork bolt at one end and to the detent lever at the opposite end so that the fork bolt is spring biased to the open position and the detent lever is spring biased to the detent position so that detent lever rides on a surface of the fork bolt and engages a latch shoulder of the fork bolt when the fork bolt is moved to the closed position by closing the vehicle closure, the detent lever having a release tab and a stop tab that is spaced from the release tab, a power unit including a unidirectional electric motor mounted on the support, a gear wheel that rotates on a third pivot pin of the support and that is driven by the unidirectional electric motor, an eccentric post that moves in a concentric circular path about the third pivot pin as the gear wheel rotates on the third pivot pin to cooperate with the release tab to unlatch the vehicle closure latch, the release tab being in the circular path of the eccentric post and the stop tab being radically outward of the circular path of the eccentric post when the fork bolt is in the closed position and the detent lever is in the detent position, the eccentric post engaging and moving the release tab to move the detent lever to the release position so that the fork bolt can move to the open position when the wheel is rotated, and the detent lever moving the stop tab into the circular path of the eccentric post when the detent lever is moved to the release position, so that the eccentric post disengages the release tab and then engages the stop tab to stop the wheel by stalling the unidirectional electric motor.
- 6. The power operated vehicle compartment latch as defined in claim 5 wherein the detent lever rides on the surface of the fork bolt when the fork bolt is moved to the open position so that the detent lever is held in the release position by the fork bolt after the detent lever is moved to the release position by the eccentric post.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
5020838 |
Fukumoto |
Jun 1991 |
A |
5921594 |
Bendel |
Jul 1999 |
A |
5934717 |
Wirths et al. |
Aug 1999 |
A |
6076868 |
Rogers, Jr. et al. |
Jun 2000 |
A |
6109671 |
Roncin et al. |
Aug 2000 |
A |