CLOSING DEVICE FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE LOCK

Abstract

A closing device for a motor vehicle lock, in particular to a closing aid for a motor vehicle door lock. According to its basic design, said closing aid has a locking mechanism substantially consisting of a rotary latch and a pawl. Furthermore, an electric motor and a transmission following the electric motor are realized. The transmission operates on the rotary latch at least during a closing operation. According to the invention, for the mechanical interruption of the closing operation, the transmission has a force flux element which can be selectively engaged and disengaged.

Claims

1. A closing device for a motor vehicle lock comprising: a locking mechanism including a rotary latch and a pawl, an electric motor, and a transmission following the electric motor, wherein the transmission operates at least during a closing operation on the rotary latch, and wherein the transmission has a force flux element which can be selectively moved between an engaged position and a disengaged position for mechanically interrupting the closing operation when in the disengaged position.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the force flux element is configured to acted upon linearly for movement between the engaged position and the disengaged position.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the force flux element is prestressed in the engaged position by a spring.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the force flux element is indirectly or directly acted upon by a handle or a separate motorized drive.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the force flux element is a gearwheel element.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the gearwheel element is mounted in a transmission element of the transmission in an axially displaceable manner.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the gearwheel element further is rotationally coupled to the transmission element.

8. The device according to claim 6, wherein the gearwheel element engages with at least one radial pin in a pin receptacle of the transmission element.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the at least one radial pin comprises a plurality of radial pins on the gear wheel element that engage in an associated plurality of pin receptacles of the transmission element in a rotating manner and simultaneously in an axially displaceable manner.

10. The device according to claim 8, wherein the gearwheel element has the at least one radial pin on a base side, and the gearwheel element has a central piece, and toothing on a head side that meshes with a further transmission element of the transmission.

11. The device according to claim 1, wherein the pawl is indirectly or directly acted upon by a handle or a separate motorized drive.

12. The device according to claim 1, wherein in the engaged position of the force flux element the force flux element ensures that forces from the electric motor are transferred to the rotary latch, and in the disengaged position of the force flux element the rotary latch is mechanically separated from the electric motor.

13. The device according to claim 3, wherein the force flux element is selectively disengaged against a force of the spring, and after an end of disengagement the spring force returns the force flux element to the engaged position.

14. The device according to claim 1, wherein the force flux element drives the pawl when in the engaged position.

15. The device according to claim 4, wherein the handle comprises a rotatable pivot lever and a non-rotatable nose coupled to the pivot lever, wherein upon operation of the handle the nose engages with the force flux element to move the force flux element to the disengaged position.

Description

[0026] The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to drawings which show only one exemplary embodiment and in which:

[0027] FIGS. 1 and 2 show the closing device according to the invention in a perspective view together with a handle for interrupting a closing operation,

[0028] FIGS. 3 and 4 show the subject matter according to FIGS. 1 and 2 from another viewing angle with engaged force flux element (FIG. 3) and the force flux element in disengaged state (FIG. 4).

[0029] FIGS. 1 and 2 generally show a closing device for a motor vehicle lock. In the exemplary embodiment, the motor vehicle lock is a motor vehicle door lock. As a result, a motor vehicle door lock closing aid is realized as a whole. In its basic structure, it has a locking mechanism 1, 2 consisting substantially of a rotary latch 1 and a pawl 2. The locking mechanism 1, 2 is rotatably mounted in a metal lock case 3.

[0030] Furthermore, an electric motor 4 and a transmission 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 following the electric motor 4 can be seen, which is explained in more detail below.

[0031] The transmission 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 operates on the rotary latch 1 at least during a closing operation. This can be seen best and in principle with reference to FIG. 3.

[0032] In fact, the design is in detail such that the electric motor 4 has a screw on its output shaft 10. The screw 5 meshes with a transmission element 6. The first transmission element 6 in turn operates on a further second transmission element 7.

[0033] A gearwheel element 8 is mounted In the transmission element 7 In a rotationally fixed and axially displaceable manner, which is explained in more detail below as a force flux element 8 designed according to the invention and which can be selectively engaged and disengaged. The gearwheel element 8 itself drives a drive pawl 9 on the output side of the transmission 5 to 9. During a closing operation, the drive pawl 9 is pivoted about its axis in the clockwise direction, as indicated by a corresponding arrow in FIG. 3. The pivoting movement of the drive pawl 9 in the clockwise direction has the result that the drive pawl 9 moves against a pin 1 a on the rotary latch 1 and is consequently acted upon in the drawing, i.e., in the sense of a counterclockwise movement about its axis also indicated in FIG. 3.

[0034] As a result, a locking bolt 11 is increasingly drawn into an insertion slot 12 of the lock case 3. Since the locking bolt 11 is connected to a motor vehicle door, not shown, this process also corresponds to the motor vehicle door in question being moved into a closed position in comparison to the motor vehicle body that accommodates and pivots it and is also not expressly shown.

[0035] According to the invention, the design is now such that the transmission 5 to 9 in question can be mechanically interrupted during a closing operation of the rotary latch 1 and consequently of the associated motor vehicle door. Such an interruption is necessary, for example, in order to ensure a pinch protection. For this purpose, the transmission 5 to 9 for the mechanical interruption of the closing operation has the previously mentioned and explained, selectively retractable force flux element 8, in which the exemplary embodiment is a gearwheel element 8.

[0036] In fact, the force flux element or gearwheel element 8 can be designed to be linearly loadable, namely can be moved axially or linearly, as is apparent from an arrow in FIG. 4. In this context, an additionally provided and not expressly illustrated spring may ensure that the force flux element 8 is pretensioned in its engaged position by means of said spring. The engaged position of the force flux element or gearwheel element 8 is shown in FIG. 3. In contrast, FIG. 4 corresponds to the disengaged position of the force flux element or gearwheel element 8.

[0037] In order now to transfer the force flux element 8 from its engaged position according to the illustration in FIG. 3 into the disengaged position according to FIG. 4, a handle 13, 14 is realized according to the exemplary embodiment, which can best be understood by means of FIGS. 1 and 2. In fact, the handle 13, 14 is composed of a pivot lever 13 that can be rotated about an axis 15 on the one hand and a nose 14 that is non-rotatably coupled to the pivoting lever 13 on the other hand.

[0038] A rotational movement of the pivot lever 13 about its axis 15 in the direction of movement indicated in FIG. 1, which is shown in the sequence of FIGS. 1 and 2, results in the fact that the lug 14, which is connected to the pivot lever 13 in a rotationally fixed manner, acts as a component of the handle 13, 14 on the force flow element 8 or gearwheel element, namely pressing the force flow element downwards in the illustration according to FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0039] By supplying the force flux element 8 with the aid of the nose 14 as a component of the handle 13, 14, the force flux element or gearwheel element 8 changes from its engaged position in FIG. 3 (according to the illustration in FIG. 1) into the disengaged position, as shown in FIG. 4. This corresponds to the pivoted position of the handle 13, 14 according to FIG. 2. In this process, the force flux element or gearwheel element 8 is axially displaced relative to the second transmission element 7 supporting it. For this purpose, the gearwheel element 8 is rotationally coupled to said second gear element 7.

[0040] For this purpose, the gearwheel element 8 has a plurality of radial pins 8c, which engage in the associated pin receptacles 16 in the second transmission element 7. In fact, according to the exemplary embodiment four radial pins 8c originating at a regular 90 distance from a center of the predominantly cylindrical gearwheel element 8 are realized. These engage in four correspondingly arranged pin receptacles 16 in the second transmission element 7.

[0041] It can be seen that the overall cylindrical gearwheel element or force flux element 8 is equipped on the base side with the radial pin 8c in question. Subsequently, a central piece 8a is provided, which is designed as a cylinder section in the exemplary embodiment. The central piece 8 a is adjoined by a toothing 8b provided on the head side of the gearwheel element or force flux element 8. With this toothing 8b, the force flux element or gearwheel element 8 engages in the drive pawl 9 or a toothing there and ensures during the locking process of the rotary latch 1 that the drive pawl 9 is pivoted about its axis in the clockwise direction about its axis in the illustration according to FIG. 3 and thus moves against the pin 1a of the rotary latch 1 in order to pull it in the counterclockwise direction.

[0042] Only a plastic housing or lock housing 17 that houses the entire motor vehicle lock is indicated. It can be seen that the handle 13, 14 is mounted on the said lock housing 17 outside of the plastic housing 17 so as to be rotatable about the axis 15. As a result, the handle 13, 14 can be acted upon directly by an operator or is accessible as required via an extension, a bowden cable, etc. As a result, the closing operation can be interrupted immediately if necessary and in this manner a particularly simple and cost-effective pinch protection is realized.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0043] 1, 2 locking mechanism [0044] 1 rotary latch [0045] 1a pin [0046] 2 pawl [0047] 3 lock case [0048] 4 electric motor [0049] 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 transmission [0050] 5 screw [0051] 6 first transmission element [0052] 7 second transmission element [0053] 8 gearwheel element, force flux element [0054] 8a central piece [0055] 8b toothing [0056] 8c radial pin [0057] 9 drive pawl [0058] 10 output shaft [0059] 11 locking pin [0060] 12 insertion slot [0061] 13, 14 handle [0062] 13 pivot lever [0063] 14 nose [0064] 15 axis [0065] 16 pin receptacle [0066] 17 lock housing, plastic housing