ACTUATOR FOR MOTOR VEHICLE APPLICATIONS

Abstract

An actuator for motor vehicle applications, in particular a motor vehicle door actuator, includes a manually or electromotiveiy operating drive. Furthermore, a flexible drive means which is connected to the drive and can be acted upon by the latter is realized. Additionally provided is an actuating member driven by the drive means. According to the invention, the drive means is produced predominantly from plastic.

Claims

1. An actuator for use a motor vehicle door actuator, the actuator comprising: a drive that operates either manually or by an electric motor; a flexible drive means, which is connected to the drive and on which the drive can act; and an actuating member that is driven by the drive means, wherein the drive means is predominantly made of plastics material.

2. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the plastics material is a polymer.

3. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the plastics material has tensile strength values of more than 1 gigapascal.

4. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the drive means is formed of plastics material fibers.

5. The actuator according to claim 4, wherein the plastics material fibers have a fineness-based maximum tensile force of at least 20 cN/dtex.

6. The actuator according to claim 5, wherein the plastics material fibers have a fineness-based maximum tensile force of more than 30 cN/dtex.

7. The actuator according to claim 4, wherein the plastics material fibers are combined to form one or more plastics material threads.

8. The actuator according to claim 7, wherein the plastics material fibers and/or the plastics material threads are twisted together to form one or more plastics material cables.

9. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the drive means is formed as a composite structure of plastics material fibers as one main component and at least one additional component.

10. The actuator according to claim 9, wherein steel fibers, natural fibers, different plastics material fibers, carbon fibers, or glass fibers are used as the at least one additional component.

11. The actuator according to claim 2, wherein the plastics material is a thermoplastic polymer.

12. The actuator according to claim 3, wherein the plastics material has tensile strength values of more than 2 gigapascals.

13. The actuator according to claim 12, wherein the plastics material has tensile strength values of more than 3 gigapascals.

14. The actuator according to claim 7, wherein the one or more plastics material threads are formed of material fibers formed of at least two different plastics material fibers.

15. The actuator according to claim 14, wherein the at least two different plastics material fibers includes polyethylene plastics material fibers and polyamide plastics material fibers.

16. The actuator according to claim 8 further comprising a cable sheat that surrounds the one or more plastics material cables.

17. The actuator according to claim 10, wherein the plastics material fibers includes polyethylene.

18. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the plastics material constitutes greater than 50% weight of the drive means.

19. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the plastics material have a melting point that is higher than 140 degrees Celsius.

Description

[0025] The invention will be explained in more detail in the following on the basis of a drawing showing just one exemplary embodiment. The single figure schematically shows an actuator according to the invention for use in motor vehicles in the form of a motor vehicle door actuator, and in particular a sliding door drive, which is reduced to the components that are essential to the invention.

[0026] FIG. 1 depicts an actuator for use in motor vehicles. In the present case, said actuator is a motor vehicle door actuator, and in particular a sliding door drive. In its basic design, this firstly comprises a drive 1. According to the exemplary embodiment, the drive 1 operates by means of an electric motor, therefore having in detail an electric motor optionally in conjunction with a transmission, and in the present case a cable drum. However, this is not compulsory. This is because the drive 1 can operate manually just as well. In this case, a flexible drive means 2 that is connected to the drive 1 and on which said drive can act is not acted upon by the traction shown in FIG. 1, for example by means of the electric motor, but optionally by means of the transmission and the cable drum, but tensile forces acting on the drive means 2 are manually applied. For this purpose, the drive may be formed as a handle, for example, which is manually acted upon by a user.

[0027] An actuating member 3 is driven by the flexible drive means 2, which member is a sliding door 3 or a corresponding door leaf that is shown schematically in FIG. 1. This is, of course, not compulsory. The actuating member 3 may just as well be formed as a locking bolt, a liftable or lowerable windowpane or the like, for example, as is explained in detail in the prior art that is talked about in the introductory part of the description.

[0028] According to the invention, the flexible drive means 2 is predominantly made of plastics material. This means that the plastics material used constitutes the main component of the flexible drive means 2 in terms of weight, therefore making up more than 50 wt. % of the drive means 2. The plastics material used is a thermoplastic polymer. In addition, the plastics material used is high-tensile, as has already been described in the introductory part of the description.

[0029] In fact, according to the sectional view in FIG. 1, the flexible drive means 2 predominantly consists of plastics material fibers 4, 4′. The plastics material fibers 4, 4′ are each combined to form plastics material threads 5. Individual plastics material threads 5 are also stranded together and thereby as a whole form a plastics material cable 6. This is, of course, only an example and is not compulsory.

[0030] The drive means 2 may also comprise a cable sheath 7 that receives the plastics material cable 6 in the interior, surrounds the plastics material cable 6 arranged in the interior and protects it against damage. At the same time, the cable sheath 7 acts as an abutment, similar to a cable sheath in a Bowden cable according to the prior art. The cable sheath 7 is, however, not compulsory as a whole and is superfluous in principle.

[0031] The plastics material fibers 4, 4′ comprise a fineness-based maximum highest tensile force of at least 20 cN/dtex, and in particular a fineness-based maximum highest tensile force of at least 30 cN/dtex. The drive means 2 can also be formed as a composite structure of plastics material fibers 4, 4′ as the main component and at least one additional component. It is therefore conceivable, for example, for HPPE (High Performance Polyethylene) plastics material fibers 4 to be used on the one hand and polyamide plastics material fibers 4′ to be used on the other hand, which, when combined as per the embodiment, define the particular plastics material thread 5 that is consequently formed as a composite structure of the HPPE plastics material fibers 4 and the polyamide plastics material fibers 4′.

[0032] Instead of the polyamide plastics material fibers 4′ as the additional component of the flexible drive means 2, so to speak, other fibers can also form a composite structure with the HPPE plastics material fibers 4. Examples of such fibers as the additional component are carbon fibers or glass fibers, as well as steel fibers. However, this is not shown in detail.