Motor vehicle door latch

Abstract

A motor vehicle door latch which is equipped with a locking bolt and a locking mechanism interacting with the locking bolt, including a catch and a pawl. The motor vehicle door latch possesses a stop lever pivotably located on the control lever, which interacts with a protrusion on the catch beyond a main ratchet position and a pre-ratchet position, whereby the protrusion corresponds to a third ratchet position with an increased distance of the locking bolt in respect of the main ratchet and pre-ratchet position compared to a catch axis. The stop lever impinges a triggering lever lifting the pawl from the catch in order to open the locking mechanism.

Claims

1. A motor vehicle door latch, comprising: a locking bolt, and a locking mechanism interacting with the locking bolt, the locking mechanism including a catch and a pawl, and a stop lever pivotably located on a control lever which interacts with a protrusion on the catch beyond a main ratchet and pre-ratchet position, whereby the protrusion corresponds to a third ratchet position with an increased distance of the locking bolt vis-à-vis the main ratchet and pre-ratchet position compared to a catch axis, and wherein in order to open the locking mechanism the stop lever is disposed to impinge a triggering lever lifting the pawl from the catch, wherein the control lever is located coaxially in relation to the catch.

2. A motor vehicle door latch according to claim 1, wherein the stop lever is disposed to interact with a contour on the triggering lever in such a way to open the locking mechanism that it is lifted from its mesh with the protrusion on the catch.

3. A motor vehicle door latch according to claim 1, wherein the control lever is connected to a closure drive.

4. A motor vehicle door latch according to claim 3, wherein the closure drive is formed as a spindle drive.

5. A motor vehicle door latch according to claim 4, wherein the closure drive is connected with the control lever via a movable spindle nut.

6. A motor vehicle door latch according to claim 1, wherein the stop lever provides a spring pre-tensioning it in the direction of the protrusion on the catch.

7. A motor vehicle door latch according to claim 1, wherein the stop lever is formed as a two arm lever.

8. A motor vehicle door latch according to claim 7, wherein the stop lever is equipped with a protrusion lever arm and a triggering lever arm on both sides of its rotational axis.

9. A motor vehicle door latch according to claim 8, wherein the triggering lever arm is hook-shaped and interacts with a starting angle as a contour of the triggering lever.

10. The motor vehicle door latch according to claim 1, wherein the catch has a first recess corresponding to the main ratchet position and a second recess corresponding to the pre-ratchet position, the protrusion being separate from the first recess and the second recess.

11. The motor vehicle door latch according to claim 10, wherein the third ratchet position is upstream from the main ratchet position and the pre-ratchet position relative to a direction of the catch in which the catch rotate during closure.

12. A motor vehicle door latch, comprising: a locking bolt, and a locking mechanism interacting with the locking bolt, the locking mechanism including a catch and a pawl, and a stop lever pivotably located on a control lever which interacts with a protrusion on the catch beyond a main ratchet and pre-ratchet position, whereby the protrusion corresponds to a third ratchet position with an increased distance of the locking bolt vis-à-vis the main ratchet and pre-ratchet position compared to a catch axis, wherein in order to open the locking mechanism the stop lever is disposed to impinge a triggering lever lifting the pawl from the catch, and wherein the stop lever is formed as a two arm lever.

13. The motor vehicle door latch according to claim 12, wherein the control lever is connected to a closure drive.

14. The motor vehicle door latch according to claim 13, wherein the closure drive is formed as a spindle drive.

15. The motor vehicle door latch according to claim 14, wherein the closure drive is connected with the control lever via a movable spindle nut.

16. The motor vehicle door latch according to claim 12, wherein the stop lever provides a spring pre-tensioning it in the direction of the protrusion on the catch.

17. The motor vehicle door latch according to claim 12, wherein the catch has a first recess corresponding to the main ratchet position and a second recess corresponding to the pre-ratchet position, the protrusion being separate from the first recess and the second recess.

18. The motor vehicle door latch according to claim 17, wherein the third ratchet position is upstream from the main ratchet position and the pre-ratchet position relative to a direction of the catch in which the catch rotate during closure.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Hereinafter, the invention is explained in further detail on the basis of a sketch which only depicts an execution example. It shows:

(2) FIG. 1 The motor vehicle door latch according to the invention at the start of a depicted closure process and

(3) FIG. 2 The motor vehicle door latch during an opening process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(4) In the figures a motor vehicle door latch is depicted which, as usual, is equipped with a locking bolt 1 only depicted in FIG. 1 and a motor vehicle door latch 2. In the example, the motor vehicle door latch 2 is connected in or on a non-illustrated motor vehicle door. To this end, the motor vehicle door latch 2 possesses a metallic latch case 3. A locking mechanism 4, 5 consisting of a catch 4 and an interacting pawl 5 is pivotably located in the metallic latch case 3.

(5) The catch 4 is pivotably located on a bolt 6 in the latch case 3 which simultaneously defines a rotational axis 6 for the catch 4. In a comparable manner, the pawl 5 possesses a further bolt 7 with the help of which the pawl 5 is also pivotably located compared to the latch case 3. Consequently, the bolt 7 defines a rotational axis 7 for the pawl 5.

(6) On the basis of the illustration in FIG. 1, it is recognized that an additional control lever 8 is located coaxially compared to the catch 4 together with it in the latch case 3. i.e. the control lever 8 and the rotational axis 4 possess a common rotational axis 6.

(7) Furthermore, another triggering lever 9 is provided for which is located coaxially compared to the pawl 5. i.e. the pawl 5 and the triggering lever 9 are respectively pivotably located with recourse to the common rotational axis 7 in the latch case 3. Thus, the triggering lever 9 interacts with the pawl 5 in the usual manner in such a way that an anti-clockwise movement of the triggering lever 9 around its rotational axis 7 illustrated in FIG. 1 corresponds to the pawl 5 located coaxially being taken along. As a consequence hereof, the pawl 5 is lifted from a main ratchet 4b or a pre-ratchet 4a which correspond to respective recesses 4a, 4b in the catch 4.

(8) A stop lever 10 pivotably located on the control lever 8 also belongs to the fundamental structure. The stop lever 10 is designed as a two-arm lever in the execution example and possesses a rotational axis 11 with the help of which the stop lever 10 is located on the control lever 8. Due to the design of the stop lever 10 as a two-arm lever, the stop lever 10 possesses a protruding lever arm 10a and a triggering lever arm 10b which are oriented on both sides of its rotational axis 11.

(9) In the figures, a contour 9a on the triggering lever 9 is recognized which interacts with the stop lever 10 or the triggering lever arm 10b of the stop lever 10, as explained in further detail hereafter. Furthermore, a drive 12, 13, 14, 15 for the control lever 8 is provided.

(10) The drive 12, 13, 14, 15 comprises an electromotor 12 and a downstream optional gear unit 13 and a spindle 14 driven via the electromotor 12 and the gear unit 13. Furthermore, a spindle nut 15 is apparent by its linearly movable rotation on the spindle 14. The linear movement of the spindle nut 15 is depicted by a double arrow in FIG. 1. Furthermore, the spindle nut 15 is connected to the control lever 8. Consequently, the depicted linear backwards and forwards movement of the spindle nut 15 corresponds to the control lever 8 being pivoted around its common rotational axis 6 with the catch 4.

(11) It operates as follows. The stop lever 10 pivotably located on the control lever 8 interacts with a protrusion 4c on the catch 4 beyond the main ratchet position and the pre-ratchet position. The main ratchet position corresponds to the pawl 5 engaging into the recess 4b or into the main ratchet 4b with its front nose. On the contrary, the pre-ratchet position corresponds to the nose 5a on the pawl 5 interacting with the pre-ratchet 4a or the recess 4a.

(12) If the locking bolt 1 now enters an infeed section 16 of the latch case or latch plate 3 to close the locking mechanism 4, 5 starting from the dot-dashed position in FIG. 1 and reaches the position depicted as a continuous line, thus the stop lever 10 pivotably located on the control lever 8 can interact with the protrusion 4c on the catch 4. This occurs beyond the already described main ratchet position and pre-ratchet position, in such a way that the locking bolt 1 in this case demonstrates an increased distance A compared to the catch axis 6, than in the case in which the locking mechanism 4, 5 assumes its main ratchet position or pre-ratchet position. Thus, a third ratchet position is executed in addition to the previously described main ratchet position and pre-ratchet position.

(13) The main ratchet position and pre-ratchet position are then adjusted starting from the illustration in FIG. 1 when the catch 4 is further closed. A clockwise direction movement of the catch 4 indicated in FIG. 1 corresponds to this. In order to initiate the closure movement of the catch 4, the drive 12, 13, 14, 15 is provided for which impinges the control lever 8. In fact, the relevant control lever 8 is connected to the drive 12, 13, 14, 15. In the execution example, the spindle nut 15 engages on an abaxial end into the control lever 8 or interacts with the control lever 8.

(14) As soon as the control lever 8 is moved to the right in the indicated arrow direction starting from the illustration according to FIG. 1, this process corresponds to the catch 4 being pivoted around its axis 6 in a clockwise direction. As a consequence hereof, the locking bolt 1 is moved in the indicated arrow direction and the locking mechanism 4, 5 closed overall. This succeeds due to the attained third ratchet position with the door leaf further open compared to the pre-ratchet position or the main ratchet position, i.e. “before”.

(15) Following the illustration according to FIG. 1, this corresponds to the nose 5a on the pawl 5 initially engaging into the pre-ratchet 4a and then the main ratchet 4b. As a consequence hereof, the catch 4 is located in the main ratchet position at the end of the closure process.

(16) In order to now open the locking mechanism 4, 5 starting from this main ratchet position it is provided for according to the invention that the stop lever 10 pivotably located on the control lever 8 impinges the triggering lever 9. To this end, the spindle nut 15 is moved in the opposite direction with the aid of the drive 12, 13, 14, 15 compared to the closure process according to FIG. 1, as apparent from FIG. 2 and relevant arrows. The impingement of the triggering lever 9 lifts the pawl 5 from the catch 4. In fact, the impingement of the triggering lever 9 with the aid of the stop lever 10 corresponds to the triggering lever 9 executing the anti-clockwise direction movement around its axis 7 already illustrated in FIG. 1. As a consequence hereof, the nose 5a of the pawl 5 leaves the main ratchet 4b and the pawl 5 is lifted from the catch 4 overall, as illustrated in FIG. 2.

(17) The stop lever 10 interacts with the contour 9a on the triggering lever 9 in such a way to open the locking mechanism 4, 5 that the stop lever 10 is lifted from its mesh with the protrusion 4c on the catch 4. In fact, the stop lever 10 is initially pre-tensioned with the aid of a not explicitly illustrated spring in the direction of the relevant protrusion 4c on the catch 4. In order to remove the stop lever 10 from the protrusion 4c, the force of this spring must be overcome.

(18) In detail, the invention attains this by the triggering lever arm 10b of the stop lever 10 being hook-shaped overall. Furthermore, the triggering lever arm 10b interacts with the contour 9a on the triggering lever 9. For this purpose, the contour 9a is designed as a starting angle 9a for the hook-shaped triggering arm 10b. On the basis of the illustration in FIG. 2, it is recognized that the stop lever 10 in the execution example is pivoted around its axis 11 in an anti-clockwise direction depicted by an arrow by the initiation of the hook-shaped triggering arm 10b of the stop lever 10 on the starting angle 9a. As a consequence hereof, the protrusion lever arm 10a is pivoted away from the protrusion 4c of the catch 4. Consequently, the catch 4 is released both from the stop lever 10 and the pawl 5 overall. Thus, the catch 4 can subsequently pivot in a spring-assisted manner around its axis 6 in the anti-clockwise direction indicated in FIG. 2. The locking mechanism 4, 5 is now opened and is released from the previously trapped locking bolt 1.