Emergency access device for a vehicle opening panel with electrical ejector comprising a percussion mode

Abstract

A vehicle opening panel emergency access device, having: a body; a graspable pull member that is able to move between: a retracted position and a deployed position; a retention pin that is designed to occupy: a locking position and a position for releasing the pull member; an electric ejector designed to control the sliding of the retention pin; a control unit for control according to two modes: an unlocking mode in which the electric ejector drives the retention pin from its locking position to its release position; and a percussion mode in which the electric ejector drives the retention pin in oscillation between its locking position and an intermediate position between the locking position and the release position.

Claims

1. A vehicle opening panel emergency access device, comprising: a body; a graspable pull member that is connected to a lock actuator and is able to move between: a retracted position in which the pull member is stowed in the body; and a deployed position in which the pull member protrudes outside the body; a retention pin that slides transverse to the pull member and is designed to occupy: a locking position in which it is disposed against the pull member, keeping the pull member in the retracted position, and a release position for releasing the pull member; an electric ejector designed to control the sliding of the retention pin; and a control unit for the electric ejector that is designed to control the electric ejector according to two modes: an unlocking mode in which the electric ejector drives the retention pin from the locking position to the release position; and a percussion mode in which the electric ejector drives the retention pin in oscillation between the locking position and an intermediate position between the locking position and the release position while increasing an amplitude of a movement of the retention pin until the retention pin is in the release position.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the retention pin has a ferromagnetic core and in that the electric ejector is an electromagnet having: a magnetic circuit surrounding the ferromagnetic core of the retention pin; and a coil designed to magnetize the magnetic circuit and attract the ferromagnetic core of the retention pin.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a locking spring that urges the retention pin toward the locking position.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an ejection spring that urges the pull member toward the deployed position.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a position sensor for sensing whether the retention pin is in the locking position or in the release position.

6. A vehicle having an opening panel equipped with a lock, comprising an emergency access device as claimed in claim 1, the lock actuator of which is connected to said lock.

7. A method for activating a device in accordance with claim 1, the method comprising controlling the electric ejector in the percussion mode.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein an oscillating frequency of the retention pin in the percussion mode is situated in the range from 5 to 50 kHz.

9. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein an oscillating frequency of the retention pin in the percussion mode is substantially equal to a resonant frequency of the pull member.

10. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein an oscillating frequency of the retention pin in the percussion mode is a frequency exhibiting a regular variation in a predetermined frequency range.

11. The method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising, after controlling the electric ejector in the percussion mode, controlling the electric ejector in the unlocking mode.

12. The method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising, simultaneously with controlling the electric ejector in the percussion mode, controlling the electric ejector in the unlocking mode.

13. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the electric ejector is regularly activated in the percussion mode for a predetermined duration, according to a predetermined preventative maintenance interval.

14. A method for activating a vehicle opening panel emergency access device comprising a body, a graspable pull member connected to a lock actuator and configured to move between a retracted position in which the pull member is stowed in the body and a deployed position in which the pull member protrudes outside the body, a retention pin that slides transverse to the pull member and is designed to occupy a locking position in which the retention pin is disposed against the pull member, keeping the pull member in the retracted position, and a release position for releasing the pull member, an electric ejector designed to control the sliding of the retention pin, and a control unit designed to control the electric ejector, the method comprising: controlling the electric ejector according to two modes: an unlocking mode in which the electric ejector drives the retention pin from the locking position to the release position; and a percussion mode in which the electric ejector drives the retention pin in oscillation between the locking position and an intermediate position between the locking position and the release position while increasing an amplitude of a movement of the retention pin until the retention pin is in the release position; and simultaneously with controlling the electric ejector in the percussion mode, controlling the electric ejector in the unlocking mode, wherein during the simultaneous controlling of the electric ejector in the percussion mode and in the unlocking mode, the control unit controls a movement of the retention pin in the percussion mode while gradually increasing an amplitude of the movement of the retention pin until the retention pin is in the release position.

15. A method for activating a vehicle opening panel emergency access device comprising a body, a graspable pull member connected to a lock actuator, a retention pin, an electric ejector designed to control the sliding of the retention pin, and a control unit, the method comprising: moving the pull member between a retracted position in which the pull member is stowed in the body and a deployed position in which the pull member protrudes outside the body; sliding the retention pin transverse to the pull member from a locking position in which the retention pin is disposed against the pull member, keeping the pull member in a retracted position, to a release position for releasing the pull member; controlling the electric ejector, by the control unit, according to two modes: an unlocking mode in which the electric ejector drives the retention pin from the locking position to the release position; and a percussion mode in which the electric ejector drives the retention pin in oscillation between the locking position and an intermediate position between the locking position and the release position; and simultaneously with controlling the electric ejector in the percussion mode, controlling the electric ejector in the unlocking mode.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Other features and advantages of aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following non-limiting description, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

(2) The FIG.1 and FIG. 2 schematically illustrate an emergency access device 200 according to an aspect of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(3) The schematic views in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show the main elements of a vehicle 100 with a vehicle opening panel emergency access device 200. This device has a body 1 forming a chassis supporting the various elements of the device. The body 1 is shown partially in FIG. 2. The body 1 has a recess 2, in which a pull member 3 is disposed.

(4) The pull member 3 is a graspable element intended to be grasped by the user in the event of activation of the emergency access device 200. The pull member 3 is connected to a lock actuator that, in the present example, is constituted of a cable 4.

(5) The emergency access device 200 is intended in this example to be installed in a vehicle handle 103 (FIG. 1) that has no mechanical link with the lock, the whole being mounted on a motor vehicle opening panel 101. The cable 4 of the pull member 3 is however mechanically connected to the lock 18 and makes it possible to actuate lock 18 by pulling the pull member 3 when the latter is in the deployed position following activation of the emergency access device 200.

(6) The pull member 3 is thus able to move between a stowed position in the body 1 (position shown in FIG. 2) and a deployed position in which the pull member has come out of the recess 2 and is disposed outside the body 1.

(7) In the retracted position, the pull member 3 is pressed against an ejection spring 5 that urges the pull member 3 toward its deployed position.

(8) The pull member 3 is kept in the retracted position by compressing the ejection spring 5, by virtue of a retention pin 6 engaged in a groove 7. The pin 6 is designed to occupy a locking position in which its end is disposed in the groove 7, against a shoulder 16 of the pull member 3, keeping the pull member 3 in its retracted position (position visible in FIG. 2). The pin 6 is able to slide vertically (in the orientation illustrated in FIG. 2) and is also designed to occupy a position for releasing the pull member, in which the pin 6 is lifted and its end is set back from the groove 7 such that the pull member 3 passes into its deployed position under the action of the ejection spring 5.

(9) The device also has an electric ejector designed to control the sliding of the retention pin 6. The electric ejector is in this case constituted by an electromagnet 8 having: a magnetic circuit 9 that is realized for example by an assembly of laminations; a coil 10 designed to magnetize the magnetic circuit 9; and a ferromagnetic core 11 fastened to the pin 6. The electromagnet 8 is connected to a control unit 12 that controls the supply of power to the coil 10.

(10) Optionally, the electromagnet 8 may have a position sensor 15, which is also connected to the control unit 12, designed to detect the presence of the pin 6 in its locking position or its release position.

(11) The device additionally has a locking spring 13 that urges the pin 6 toward its locking position.

(12) According to this architecture, when the electromagnet 8 is not activated (i.e. when the coil 10 is not supplied with power), and the pull member 3 is in its retracted position, the pin 6 is by default in its locking position under the effect of the urging of the locking spring 13.

(13) The control unit 12 is designed to control the electromagnet 8 according to a first mode called “unlocking” mode, in which the coil 10 is supplied, in the present example, with a direct current so as to attract the core 11 upward (in the position schematically shown in FIG. 2) thus controlling the passage of the pin 6 from its locking position to its release position.

(14) According to an aspect of the invention, the control unit 12 is also designed to control the electromagnet 8 according to a second mode called “percussion” mode, in which the electromagnet 8 drives the pin 6 in oscillation between its locking position and an intermediate position, which is situated between the locking position and the release position.

(15) Specifically, the long periods for which the emergency access device 200 is not in use can result in the accumulation of dust and dirt in the gaps that are present between the pull member 3 and the body 1, or in another context, in winter, ice may be present in these gaps. These undesirable materials are schematically shown by the masses 14 visible in the FIGURE. According to an aspect of the invention, these undesirable materials 14 can be expelled from their location by a vibration of the pull member 3 that is caused during the control of the electromagnet 8 in percussion mode. In order to generate this vibration, the control unit 12, in its percussion mode, supplies the coil 10 with power so as to cause a slight movement upward (in the example orientation in the FIGURE) such that the end of the pin 6 slides upward against the shoulder 16 of the groove 7 but without reaching the edge corner 17, i.e. remaining below the point at which the end of the pin 6 releases the pull member 3 by coming out of the groove 7. This vibration of the pull member 3 is indeed caused while the pull member 3 is kept in its retracted position. The coil 10 will therefore be controlled in oscillation, for example by a squarewave signal or a sinusoidal signal. This control is calibrated for an amplitude of movement of the pin 6 that does not exceed the depth of the groove 7 (the distance between the edge corner 17 and the bottom of the groove 7), in order not to trigger the device by passing the pull member 3 into its deployed position.

(16) The control of the unit 12 in percussion mode thus consists in supplying the coil 10 with power so as to cause this displacement of the pin 6 without releasing the pull member 3, and then ceasing to supply the coil 10 with power, such that, at least under the urging of the locking spring 13, the pin 6 returns to its locking position, striking the bottom of the groove 7 of the pull member 3.

(17) This succession of strikes, according to the oscillating frequency of the pin 6, causes the vibration desired for the pull member 3.

(18) Preferably, the control unit in percussion mode is calibrated for a percussion frequency of the pin 6 on the pull member 3 in a preferred range from 5 to 50 kHz. Preferably, this frequency is from 10 to 20 kHz, and this allows a vibration that is inaudible to the human ear.

(19) According to one embodiment, this frequency is chosen so as to correspond to the resonant frequency of the pull member 3 such that the vibratory movements of the pull member 3 are amplified and are all the more effective for expelling the undesirable materials 14. This resonant frequency is a characteristic linked to the construction of the pull member and of the elements with which it is in contact. This resonant frequency is easily determined empirically or by calculation.

(20) According to another embodiment, the percussion frequency is variable over a predetermined frequency range such that the vibration of the device will necessarily pass through one or more resonant frequencies of the elements constituting it, even if this resonant frequency is not determined in advance.

(21) According to a corrective maintenance embodiment, the emergency access device 200 can be activated by the unit 12 such that, when an ejection command is given to the electromagnet 8 by control in unlocking mode (in response to activation of the device), the unit 12 monitors whether the pull member 3 has indeed passed into deployed mode, by virtue of the sensor 15. If it is observed that the ejection command, which has made the pin 6 pass into its release position, has not resulted in the pull member 3 passing into the deployment position, this means that the pull member 3 is locked by an undesirable material 14. In this case, the unit 12 then activates the electromagnet 8 in percussion mode so as to expel the undesirable material 14 then once again activates the electromagnet 8 in unlocking mode.

(22) According to a corrective or preventative maintenance embodiment, when the device is activated, the unit 12 systematically controls the electromagnet 8 first in percussion mode for a predetermined duration (for example a few seconds) then in unlocking mode.

(23) According to a preventative maintenance embodiment, the unit 12 regularly activates the electromagnet 8 in percussion mode, for example every month for a predetermined duration (for example a few minutes) in order to prevent the accumulation of undesirable material 14.

(24) According to one embodiment, the unlocking and percussion modes can be implemented simultaneously. In this case, the unit 12 controls the movement of the pin 6 in percussion mode, while at the same time gradually increasing the amplitude of movement of the pin 6, until the pin 6 passes over the edge corner 17, thus releasing the pull member 3.

(25) Variant embodiments of the emergency access device may be implemented without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, the electric ejector can be constituted of an actuator with a different technology, for example by a piezoelectric actuator or by a rotary or linear electric motor, or any other actuator that makes it possible to be controlled according to a percussion mode by the control unit 12.

(26) The embodiments can be combined, for example the corrective maintenance embodiment can be implemented jointly with the preventative maintenance embodiments, thus increasing the operational safety.