DOOR LOCK HAVING ENERGY ABSORPTION

Abstract

A door lock arrangement of a vehicle door of a vehicle includes a first closing element arranged in a lock mouth of the vehicle door and a second closing element arranged on a body of the vehicle. The first and second closing elements can be brought into positive-locking engagement with each other to hold the door on the body. A damping device absorbs kinetic energy of the door during a closing movement of the door within a predetermined limit opening angle of the vehicle door relative to the body and slows down the closing movement of the door. The damping device has an impact element arranged on the door in a displaceable manner relative to the door or on the body in a displaceable manner relative to the body. The impact element is connected to an actuator, which applies a pre-tensioning force of the door directed in an opening direction of the door while the first and second closing elements are engaged with each other.

Claims

1-10. (canceled)

11. A door lock arrangement of a vehicle door of a vehicle, the door lock arrangement comprising: a first closing element arranged in a lock mouth of the vehicle door; a second closing element arranged on a body of the vehicle, wherein the first closing element and the second closing element are configured to so that the first and second closing elements can be engaged with each other in a positively positive-locking engagement to hold the vehicle door on the body; a damping device, which absorbs kinetic energy of the vehicle door during a closing movement of the vehicle door within a predetermined limit opening angle of the vehicle door relative to the body and to slow down the closing movement of the vehicle door, wherein the damping device includes an impact element arranged on the vehicle door in a displaceable manner relative to the vehicle door or on the body in a displaceable manner relative to the body; and an actuator connected to the impact element, wherein the actuator applies a pre-tensioning force of the vehicle door directed in an opening direction of the vehicle door relative to the body while the first and second closing elements are engaged with each other.

12. The door lock arrangement of claim 11, wherein the actuator is a spring element.

13. The door lock arrangement of claim 11, wherein the actuator has an electric motor.

14. The door lock arrangement of claim 11, wherein the impact element is a cylindrical piston.

15. The door lock arrangement of claim 11, wherein the impact element is arranged in the lock mouth in a displaceable manner relative to the vehicle door, such that the impact element is pressed against the second closing element within the predetermined limit opening angle of the vehicle door relative to the body during the closing movement of the vehicle door.

16. The door lock arrangement of claim 11, wherein the first closing element has a rotary latch, and the second closing element has a bolt, wherein, when the first closing element is engaged with the second closing element by rotating the rotary latch around the bolt, the rotary latch and the bolt are fixed to each other.

17. The door lock arrangement of claim 11, wherein the damping device has a fluid damper.

18. The door lock arrangement of claim 17, wherein the fluid damper is a shear damper.

19. A vehicle, comprising: a body; a door; and a door lock arrangement, which comprises a first closing element arranged in a lock mouth of the vehicle door; a second closing element arranged on the body, wherein the first closing element and the second closing element are configured to so that the first and second closing elements can be engaged with each other in a positively positive-locking engagement to hold the vehicle door on the body; a damping device, which absorbs kinetic energy of the vehicle door during a closing movement of the vehicle door within a predetermined limit opening angle of the vehicle door relative to the body and to slow down the closing movement of the vehicle door, wherein the damping device includes an impact element arranged on the vehicle door in a displaceable manner relative to the vehicle door or on the body in a displaceable manner relative to the body; and an actuator connected to the impact element, wherein the actuator applies a pre-tensioning force of the vehicle door directed in an opening direction of the vehicle door relative to the body while the first and second closing elements are engaged with each other.

20. A method for closing a vehicle door of a vehicle with respect to a body of the vehicle, wherein a first closing element is arranged in a lock mouth of the vehicle door and a second closing element is arranged on the body of the vehicle, the method comprising: moving the vehicle door in the direction of the body of the vehicle; absorbing kinetic energy of the vehicle door with a damping device while the vehicle door is within a predetermined limit opening angle of the vehicle door with respect to the body to slow down the closing movement of the vehicle door, wherein the damping device has an impact element, wherein the impact element is arranged on the vehicle door and is displaced with respect to the vehicle door or is arranged on the body and displaced with respect to the body; bringing the first closing element and the second closing element into engagement with each other for holding the vehicle door on the body in a positive-locking manner; and applying a pre-tensioning force, directed in an opening direction of the vehicle door, of the vehicle door relative to the body by an actuator, while the first and second closing elements are engaged with each other.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

[0031] Here are shown:

[0032] FIG. 1 a door lock arrangement of a vehicle door of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention,

[0033] FIG. 2 a vehicle having a door lock arrangement according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention,

[0034] FIG. 3 a damping characteristic curve of a damping device of a door lock arrangement according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention, and

[0035] FIG. 4 a method for closing a vehicle door of a vehicle in relation to a body of the vehicle according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0036] The depictions in the figures are schematic and not to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] FIG. 1 shows a door lock arrangement 1 of a vehicle door 101 of a vehicle 100, having a first closing element 3 (a rotary latch not shown) arranged in a lock mouth 13 of the vehicle door 101 and a second closing element 5 (namely a bolt connected to the body 102 of the vehicle 100) arranged on a body 102 of the vehicle 100, wherein the first closing element 3 and the second closing element 5 can be brought into engagement with each other in a positive-locking manner for holding the vehicle door 101 on the body 102. Furthermore, the door lock arrangement 1 has a damping device 7 which is designed to absorb kinetic energy of the vehicle door 101 during a closing movement of the vehicle door 101 within a predetermined limit opening angle of the vehicle door 101 relative to the body 102 and to slow down the closing movement of the vehicle door 101. For this purpose, the damping device 7 has a cylindrical impact element 9, wherein the impact element 9 is arranged on the vehicle door 101 and is displaceable relative to the vehicle door 101, i.e., the impact element 9 is arranged in the lock mouth 13 in a displaceable manner relative to the vehicle door 101 and, during the closing movement of the vehicle door 101, is pressed against the second closing element 5 within the predetermined limit opening angle of the vehicle door 101 relative to the body 102. The impact element 9 is further connected to an actuator 11, wherein the actuator 11 is configured to apply a pre-tensioning force of the vehicle door 101 directed in an opening direction of the door with respect to the body 102 while the first closing element 3 and the second closing element 5 are engaged with each other. Here, the actuator 11 is an electric motor combined with a spring element. The electric motor serves primarily to apply the pre-tensioning force of the vehicle door 101 with respect to the body 102, while the spring element together with the damping device 7 primarily serves to provide a super-critically damped spring-damper element to reduce kinetic energy of the vehicle door during closing. However, both are mechanically coupled to each other.

[0038] FIG. 2 shows a vehicle 100 having a door lock arrangement 1 as shown in FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the vehicle door 101, having the door lock arrangement 1, has a side door of the vehicle 100.

[0039] FIG. 3 shows a damping characteristic curve of a damping device 7 of a door lock arrangement 1, wherein the left of the two curves in FIG. 3 describes the energy absorption E1 of an elastomer sealing element from the prior art, and the right of the two curves describes the energy absorption E2 of a damping device 7 of the door lock arrangement 1 of a vehicle door 101 described in FIG. 1. Here, the horizontal axis denotes the travel distance, and the vertical axis denotes the generated force, such that the integral of the respective curve indicates the absorbed energy. Due to the possible travel distance of the impact element 9, possibly absorbable energy E2 is significantly greater than the energy E1 that can be absorbed by an elastomer door seal, for example.

[0040] FIG. 4 shows a method for closing a vehicle door 101 of a vehicle 100 with respect to a body 102 of the vehicle 100, wherein a first closing element 3 is arranged in a lock mouth 13 of the vehicle door 101 and a second closing element 5 is arranged on the body 102 of the vehicle 100. In a first step of the method, the vehicle door 101 is manually moved S1 in the direction of the body 102 of the vehicle 100. Thereupon, a damping device 7 absorbs S2 kinetic energy of the vehicle door 101 while the vehicle door 101 is within a predetermined limit opening angle of the vehicle door 101 with respect to the body 102 in order to slow down the closing movement of the vehicle door 101, wherein the damping device 7 has an impact element 9, wherein the impact element 9 is arranged on the vehicle door 101 in a displaceable manner with respect to the vehicle door 101 or on the body 102 in a displaceable manner with respect to the vehicle door 101 or on the body 102 in a displaceable manner with respect to the body 102. Thus, the vehicle door 101 rests against the door frame of the body 102 of the vehicle 100. To fix the vehicle door 101 to the body 102 of the vehicle 100, the first closing element and the second closing element are brought into engagement with each other S3 to hold the vehicle door 101 in a positive-locking manner against the body 102. The vehicle door 101 is thus firmly closed. This is followed by the application S4 of a pre-tensioning force, directed in an opening direction of the door, of the vehicle door 101 with respect to the body 102 by an actuator 11, while the first closing element 3 and the second closing element 5 are engaged with each other. This advantageously avoids the door rattling described above.

[0041] Although the invention has been further illustrated and explained in detail by preferred exemplary embodiments, the invention is not limited by the disclosed examples, and other variations can be derived therefrom by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of protection of the invention. It is therefore clear that a plurality of possible variations exists. It is also clear that exemplary embodiments mentioned really only represent examples, which are not to be understood in any way as limiting, for example, the scope of protection, the possible applications or the configuration of the invention. Rather, the preceding description and the figure description enable the person skilled in the art to implement exemplary embodiments in a concrete manner, wherein the person skilled in the art, being aware of the disclosed idea of the invention, can make a variety of changes, for example with respect to the function or arrangement of individual elements mentioned in an exemplary embodiment, without leaving the scope of protection defined by the claims and their legal equivalents, such as further explanations in the description.