RATCHET UNIT FOR MOTOR VEHICLE FLAPS OR MOTOR VEHICLE DOORS

Abstract

A ratchet unit for motor vehicle flaps or motor vehicle doors, in particular motor vehicle rear doors, preferably motor vehicle rear sliding doors, which are equipped with an electromotive drive and a ratchet lever which can be acted on by the drive. The ratchet lever is set up to lock and open the motor vehicle flap. According to the invention, the ratchet lever continuously adopts its closed position and is only moved into its open position with the aid of the drive to open the motor vehicle flap. The ratchet lever in its closed position is deflected resiliently when the motor vehicle flap is closed.

Claims

1. A ratchet unit for a motor vehicle flaps or the ratchet unit comprising: an electromotive drive; and a ratchet lever that is acted upon by the electromotive drive, the ratchet lever being configured for locking and for opening the motor vehicle flap or door, wherein the ratchet lever is continuously in a closed position and is only moved into an open position for opening the motor vehicle flap or door with the aid of the electromotive drive, wherein during closing of the motor vehicle flap or door, the ratchet lever is deflected resiliently in the closed position.

2. The ratchet unit according to claim 1 further comprising a freewheel, wherein the ratchet lever is connected to the electromotive drive via the freewheel.

3. The ratchet unit according to claim 2, wherein the freewheel includes an actuating rod connected to the electromotive drive and a lever-side receptacle with a clearance for the actuating rod.

4. The ratchet unit according to claim 3, wherein the lever-side receptacle with the clearance is formed as a bearing arrangement through which the actuating rod extends.

5. The ratchet unit according to claim 3, wherein the lever-side receptacle with the clearance is formed as a slot guide in the ratchet lever for the actuating rod.

6. The ratchet unit according to claim 1, wherein the ratchet lever is a two-arm lever which is rotatably mounted and has a bearing arm and an actuating arm.

7. The ratchet unit according to claim 6, wherein the actuating arm is connected to the bearing arm at an angle.

8. The ratchet unit according to claim 6, wherein the actuating arm has a leading edge and an abutment edge and protrudes into a travel path of the motor vehicle flap or door.

9. The ratchet unit according to claim 1, wherein the ratchet lever and the electromotive drive are arranged on a common mounting flange.

10. The ratchet unit according to claim 1, wherein the ratchet lever is biased in a direction of the closed position with a spring.

11. The ratchet unit according to claim 3, wherein the actuating rod is linearly moved by the electromotive drive.

12. The ratchet unit according to claim 11, wherein the actuating rod engages with an actuating pin at end of a slot guide formed in the ratchet lever.

13. The ratchet unit according to claim 1, wherein the electromotive drive includes a control member that is connected to a housing of the electromotive drive by a bellows arrangement.

14. The ratchet unit according to claim 1, wherein the electromotive drive is a linear control drive.

15. The ratchet unit according to claim 6, wherein the ratchet lever is rotatably mounted at an end of the ratchet lever on the bearing arm.

16. The ratchet unit according to claim 8, wherein the abutment edge is configured to engage an extension of the motor vehicle flap or door.

17. The ratchet unit according to claim 9, wherein the mounting flange is fixed in an opening inside a body of a motor vehicle.

18. The ratchet unit according to claim 17, wherein the ratchet lever is received in a second opening formed in the body.

Description

[0024] The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to drawings, which show only one embodiment. In the drawings:

[0025] FIG. 1 shows the ratchet unit according to the invention for motor vehicle flaps or motor vehicle doors in the closed position of the ratchet lever,

[0026] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the object according to FIG. 1,

[0027] FIG. 3 shows the electromotive drive in an overview in a first embodiment and

[0028] FIG. 4 shows the electromotive drive in a further second variant.

[0029] In the figures, a ratchet unit for motor vehicle flaps 1 or motor vehicle doors is shown. The motor vehicle flap 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a motor vehicle rear sliding door 1 or a motor vehicle rear door on a panel van. The motor vehicle rear sliding door 1 is moved upwards in the direction of an opening arrow Ö in FIG. 1. In contrast, a closing movement of the motor vehicle rear door or motor vehicle rear sliding door 1 corresponds to a movement downward along the arrow S.

[0030] In the example, the illustrated motor vehicle rear door or motor vehicle rear sliding door 1 has a connected pin or extension 2 which interacts with an associated ratchet unit. As evidenced by the overview in FIGS. 2 and 3, the ratchet unit has an electromotive drive 3, 4. According to the embodiment, the electromotive drive 3, 4 works as a linear control drive and in this way ensures that a control member 4 at the end can perform linear movements, as indicated in the figures by way of example by a double arrow. For this purpose, the electromotive drive 3, 4 may be constructed in detail and internally as described in DE 10 2017 113 528 A1 of the applicant. It can be seen that the electromotive drive 3, 4 is encapsulated overall and the control member 4, which can be moved linearly back and forth, is connected to a housing of the drive 3, 4 via a bellows arrangement.

[0031] An actuating rod 5 is acted upon with the aid of the electromotive drive 3, 4, and consequently also performs linear movements. In the variant according to FIG. 3, the actuating rod 5 is suspended in a front eyelet on the control member 4 as part of the electromotive drive 3, 4. In the variant according to FIG. 4, the control member 4 and the actuating rod 5 define a structural unit 4, 5, which engages there with an actuating pin 5a at the end in a slot guide 6 of a ratchet lever 7 that can be acted upon by the electric motor drive 3, 4.

[0032] In contrast, the design in the variant according to FIG. 3 is such that the actuating rod 5 extends through a lever-side bearing arrangement 8 on the ratchet lever 7. In both cases, the ratchet lever 7 is set up and designed for locking and for opening of the motor vehicle flap 1 or the motor vehicle rear sliding door 1 in the example. For this purpose, the ratchet lever 7 continuously adopts its closed position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, 3. In order to move the ratchet lever 7 into its open position also shown by dash-dot lines in FIG. 4, the ratchet lever 7 is moved with the aid of the electromotive drive 3, 4 into said opening position shown by dash-dot lines in FIG. 4. Since the ratchet lever 7 continuously adopts its closed position, it is overrun in said closed position during closing of the motor vehicle flap 1. Corresponding to this, when the motor vehicle flap 1 is closed, the ratchet lever 7 in its closed position is deflected resiliently in the direction of the arrow S, as will be explained in more detail below.

[0033] In fact, the ratchet lever 7 is connected via a freewheel 5; 6, 8 to the electromotive drive 3, 4. For this purpose, the freewheel 5; 6, 8 consists essentially of the actuating rod 5 connected to the electromotive drive 3, 4, on the one hand, and a lever-side receptacle 6, 8 with clearance for the actuating rod 5, on the other hand.

[0034] In the context of the variant according to FIG. 3, the lever-side receptacle 6, 8 with clearance for the actuating rod 5 is designed as a bearing arrangement 8 through which the actuating rod 5 extends. In the variant according to FIG. 4, on the other hand, the lever-side receptacle 6, 8 with clearance is the slot guide 6 implemented there in the ratchet lever 7 for the actuating rod 5.

[0035] When looking at FIG. 3, it can be seen that the bearing arrangement 8 through which the actuating rod 5 passes with a clearance has two spaced-apart bearing eyes, through both of which the actuating rod 5 can move linearly back and forth. For this purpose, the actuating rod 5 has an end abutment 5b which, according to the embodiment in FIG. 3, moves into its open position against the left one of the two bearing eyes to act on the ratchet lever 7. As a result, the ratchet lever 7 is pivoted about an axis of rotation defined by a bearing pin 11 for the ratchet lever 7 in order to adopt its open position, specifically in the counterclockwise direction, as indicated by a corresponding arrow in FIG. 3. The ratchet lever 7 also performs a comparable pivoting movement in the counterclockwise direction about the axis of rotation defined by the bearing pin 11 when it is in the closed position and the pin or extension 2 on the motor vehicle flap 1 passes over it. In fact, during this process, the ratchet lever 7 in its closed position is deflected resiliently. This is possible because, during this process, the relevant pin or extension 2 moves against a leading edge 10 of the ratchet lever 7. The counterclockwise movement of the ratchet lever 7 initiated by this is permitted because during this process the bearing arrangement 8, which is designed as a lever-side receptacle and through which the actuating rod 5 passes, permits such a movement and is moved to the right on the actuating rod 5 in the embodiment according to FIG. 3.

[0036] The procedure is similar in the variant according to FIG. 4, with the only difference that, during closing of the motor vehicle flap 1, the ratchet lever 7 in the closed position moves with its slot guide 6 along the actuating pin 5a at the end of the actuating rod 5 or the structural unit 4, 5. In any case, in its closed position the ratchet lever 7 is deflected resiliently during closing of the motor vehicle flap 1. This is ensured by a spring 9 which biases the ratchet lever 7 in the direction of its closed position. It can be seen that the spring 9 is designed as a leg spring. For this purpose, the spring 9 has a coiled section which encloses the bearing pin 11 for the ratchet lever 7. One leg of the leg spring is connected to the ratchet lever 7 and acts on it in the direction of its closed position. The other leg of the leg spring, on the other hand, rests in a stationary manner on a mounting flange 12.

[0037] The ratchet lever 7 is designed as a two-arm lever rotatably mounted at the end with the aid of the bearing pin 11. In fact, the ratchet lever 7 is composed of a bearing arm 7a, on the one hand, and an actuating arm 7b, on the other hand. The actuating arm 7b is connected to the bearing arm 7a at an angle. According to the embodiment, the two arms 7a, 7b enclose an angle of approximately 130° to 140°. As a result of this, the abovementioned leading edge 10 has an angle α of approximately 40° to 50° with respect to the closing direction S of the motor vehicle flap 1, as shown in FIG. 1. Of course, this only applies as an example.

[0038] The already mentioned leading edge 10 is found on the actuating arm 7b of the ratchet lever 7. In addition, the actuating arm 7b in question is also equipped with a stop edge 16. According to the embodiment, the stop edge 16 interacts with the pin or extension 2 and thus the motor vehicle flap 1, specifically in its closed state, as can be seen from FIG. 1. Any opening movement in the direction Ö of the relevant motor vehicle flap 1 results in a force vector being predominantly oriented in the direction of the axis of rotation or the bearing pin 11 of the ratchet lever 7, and consequently this opening movement in the direction Ö works neutrally on the ratchet lever 7 and no torque is generated at this point.

[0039] Finally, it can be seen that the ratchet lever 7 and the electromotive drive 3, 4 taken together are arranged on the aforementioned common mounting flange 12 or are connected to this mounting flange 12. As a result, the entire arrangement can be attached and placed in a compact and simple manner in an opening 13 shown in FIG. 2 inside a body 14. At the same time, the ratchet lever 7 can be brought into a travel path V of the motor vehicle flap 1 without any problems and, as described, the ratchet lever 7 in question adopts its closed position continuously and, in this closed position, is deflected resiliently when the motor vehicle flap 1 is closed. To open the motor vehicle flap 1 the ratchet lever 7 is, as it were, withdrawn from a further opening 15 in the body 14 with the aid of the electromotive drive 3, 4.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0040] 1 motor vehicle flap, motor vehicle rear sliding door [0041] 2 pin, extension [0042] 3, 4 electromotive drive [0043] 4 control member [0044] 4, 5 structural unit [0045] 5 actuating rod [0046] 5; 6, 8 freewheel [0047] 5a actuating pin [0048] 5b abutment [0049] 6 slot guide [0050] 6, 8 receptacle [0051] 7 ratchet lever [0052] 7a bearing arm [0053] 7b actuating arm [0054] 8 bearing arrangement [0055] 9 feather [0056] 10 leading edge [0057] 11 bearing pin [0058] 12 mounting flange [0059] 13 opening [0060] 14 body [0061] 15 opening [0062] 16 abutment edge [0063] Ö opening arrow, direction [0064] S arrow, closing direction [0065] V travel path