LOCKING DEVICE FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE

Abstract

A method for actuating a motor vehicle lock and a locking device for a motor vehicle includes an actuating lever, a lock and a Bowden cable arranged between the actuating lever and the lock, the lock can be actuated by means of the actuating lever and with the aid of the Bowden cable, and a functional unit arranged on the Bowden cable and comprising an electric drive.

Claims

1. A locking device for a motor vehicle, the locking device comprising: an actuating lever, a lock, a Bowden cable arranged between the actuating lever and the lock, the lock being actuated by the actuating lever and the Bowden cable, and a functional unit that is arranged on the Bowden cable and includes an electric drive.

2-22. (canceled)

23. An actuator for a motor vehicle having the locking device according to claim 1, the actuator comprising: a housing, a mobile actuator that can be moved in and out of the housing through an opening (56) in the housing, at least one seal enclosing the opening, wherein the opening can be sealed by a ring-shaped sealing cap that encompasses the mobile actuator and interacts with the housing, wherein the mobile actuator can be moved through the sealing cap.

24. The actuator according to claim 23, wherein the seal is fully accommodated in the housing.

25. The actuator according to claim 23, wherein the sealing cap can be connected by a bayonet-type lock bar that interacts with the housing.

26. The actuator according to claim 23, wherein the mobile actuator has a ring, to accommodate a sealant.

27. The actuator according to claim 23, wherein the sealing cap has a ring nut to accommodate a sealant.

28. The actuator according to claim 23 further comprising a sealant, wherein the sealant is arranged in at least one accommodation area of the mobile actuator, and/or the sealing cap, wherein the sealant is formed to follow a movement of the mobile actuator.

29. The actuator according to claim 28, wherein the sealant is a bellows.

30. The actuator according to claim 23, wherein the mobile actuator has a sealing storage for the Bowden cable.

31. The actuator according to claim 23, wherein a Bowden cable core of a Bowden cable is freely guided through the actuator.

32. The actuator according to claim 23, wherein the housing has a cross-sectional shape which changes along the mobile actuator, wherein a height of the housing continuously increases with respect to the mobile actuator for forming an inclined level for supporting a housing cover.

33. The actuator for a motor vehicle having the locking device according to claim 1, the actuator comprising: a housing having a housing shell and at least one housing cover, and an electric drive for moving a movable actuator in and out of the housing, wherein the movable actuator is movable by at least by a spindle drive, wherein at least one bearing sleeve of the spindle is slidable into a recess of the housing.

34. The actuator according to claim 33, wherein the spindle has two bearing sleeves in the housing.

35. The actuator according to claim 33, wherein that the at least one bearing sleeve is attachable to the spindle in a torsion-resistant manner.

36. The actuator according to claim 33, wherein the at least one-bearing sleeve is made of a material that has a higher strength than a material of the spindle and/or a material of the housing.

37. The actuator according to claim 33, wherein the at least one bearing sleeve is formed from a metallic material.

38. The actuator according to claim 33, wherein the at least one bearing sleeve has at least a tapering diameter.

39. The actuator according to claim 33, wherein the at least one bearing sleeve tapers in diameter in an axial direction of the spindle towards a contact area of the spindle in the housing.

40. The actuator according to claim 33, wherein the at least one bearing sleeve is formed from a first cylindrical area across the spindle and a second area that tapers in diameter.

41. The actuator according to claim 33, wherein the spindle and the at least one bearing sleeve have a passage opening for a Bowden cable core.

42. The actuator according to claim 33 further comprising a spindle drive wherein the spindle reaches a final mounting position when a contact area of the spindle reaches an axial end of the recess.

Description

[0062] The following are shown:

[0063] FIG. 1 a side view of a locking device for a motor vehicle with a lock, a functional unit and an exemplary indicated location of an actuating lever; and

[0064] FIG. 2 a basic illustration of a locking device consisting of a lock, an alternative embodiment of a functional unit and a basically illustrated actuating lever,

[0065] FIG. 3 a basic illustration of an arrangement of a locking device with an actuating lever, a Bowden cable, a functional unit and a lock,

[0066] FIG. 4 a three-dimensional view of an actuator without a housing cover and without a sealing cap as part of an actuating module inserted into a Bowden cable,

[0067] FIG. 5 a detailed view of an opening in the housing of the actuator with a sealing cap, which is connected to the housing by means of a bayonet fitting,

[0068] FIG. 6 another view of the sealing cap according to FIG. 2 in a top view of the housing with an actuating means guided in the sealing cap and a Bowden cable cover attached to the actuating means,

[0069] FIG. 7 a side view of the actuator without a housing cover with a sealing cap and a Bowden cable cover attached to the actuating means,

[0070] FIG. 8 a sectional view along the line V-V from FIG. 4 with an arrangement of the sealing cap in the housing with a bellows arranged on the sealing cap and the actuating means,

[0071] FIG. 9 a three-dimensional view of the actuator with a bellows.

[0072] FIG. 10 a three-dimensional view of a actuator with an electric drive and a spindle drive inserted into a housing shell for an actuating means,

[0073] FIG. 11 a section along line II-II from FIG. 1 with a spindle drive partially inserted in the housing,

[0074] FIG. 12 a view from the direction of the arrow III in FIG. 1 towards the actuator with a transmission inserted into the housing shell with spindle drive,

[0075] FIG. 13 a detailed view of a bearing sleeve on an axial end of a spindle in an opening of the actuating means, and

[0076] FIG. 14 another view of a bearing sleeve on an axial end of the spindle with a contact surface for the bearing sleeve in a mounted state of the actuator.

[0077] In FIG. 1, a top view of a locking device 1 is reproduced in a basic illustration and in a partial sectional view. The locking device 1 has a lock 2, a functional unit 3, an actuating lever 4 and a two-part Bowden cable 5, 6. On the inside of the lock 7, a lever 8 is swivelably accommodated around an axis 9. Lever 8 can be swiveled around axis 9 using a Bowden cable core 10, as basically illustrated with the dot-dashed line illustrated lever 8.

[0078] In order to actuate the Bowden cable core 10, an actuating lever 11 can be actuated, for example, inside a motor vehicle and can, for example, be swiveled. If the actuating lever 11 is actuated, the actuating lever 11 can reach the actuation position 11.

[0079] Functional unit 3 has an electric motor 12, which can be contacted and controlled via the plug socket 13. The electric motor 12 is part of an electric drive 14, with which a spindle 16 can be driven via a worm transmission 15. A slider 17 is arranged on the spindle, with the slider 17 longitudinally accommodated by means of the electric drive 14. The Bowden cable cover 18 can be moved by means of the slider 17, so that a relative movement between the Bowden cable core 10 and the Bowden cable cover 18 can be achieved by means of the slider 17. To create the relative movement between the Bowden cable cover 18 and the Bowden cable core 10, the slider is moved towards lock 2, namely in the direction of arrow P1.

[0080] A brake lever 21 is swivelably arranged around an axis 20 on the inside 19 of the functional unit 3. The brake lever 21 has a contact surface 22 at one end, which can be made to engage with the slider 17. The slider 17 has in turn a control contour 23 which cooperates with the contact surface 22. The slider 17, and particularly the control contour 23, engage with the contact surface 22 if the slider 17 is moved by the electric drive 14 towards the arrow P2, whereby the engagement situation between the slider and the brake lever 21 is reproduced in FIG. 1. The braking situation or braking position for the Bowden cable core 10 is thus reproduced.

[0081] At one of the ends of the brake lever 21 opposite the contact surface 22, a braking surface 24 is arranged, which can be made to engage directly or indirectly with the Bowden cable core 10, for example, by means of a friction lining. Here, the braking surface 24 interacts with a counter bearing 25 which is formed, for example, from the housing 26 of the functional unit 3.

[0082] If FIG. 1 illustrates the braking situation in which the Bowden cable core 10 can be braked by means of the functional unit 3, it goes without saying that if the slider 17 is moved towards arrow P1, the brake lever 21 is disengaged from the Bowden cable core 10, disengaged at least insofar as the Bowden cable core 10 can be freely moved in the Bowden cable cover 18. In this exemplary embodiment, the brake lever 21 can be pre-tensioned counterclockwise, for example, by means of a spring. It is also self-evident that if the brake lever 21 is disengaged from the Bowden cable core, the Bowden cable cover 18 is also not pre-tensioned, that is, the lever 8 as well as the actuating lever 11 are then in an initial position. Thus, from this initial position, either the lever 8 can be actuated by actuating the slider 17 towards the arrow P1 or the brake lever 21 can be actuated by moving the slider towards the arrow P2. The brake lever 21 can be activated, for example, by a sensor in the motor vehicle, which, for example, detects an impediment in the vicinity of the motor vehicle. The braking of the Bowden cable core 10 sends a haptic signal to the driver of the motor vehicle that an actuation of the actuating lever 11 may possibly lead to a collision. However, it is always possible that the brake lever 21 is only designed in such a manner that, in the event of an emergency, the actuating lever 11 can be actuated beyond the force of the brake lever 21.

[0083] A further embodiment of the functional unit 3 with an alternative braking device is reproduced as an example in FIG. 2. In this exemplary embodiment, the brake unit 27 is made up of a rocker arm 28 and, for example, a longitudinally accommodated cylindrical pin 29. The same components according to FIG. 1 are indicated by the same reference numerals. A slider 30 is stored in a movable manner in the functional unit 3, so that the Bowden cable 18 can be controlled or moved in turn. Starting from the initial position A, the slider 30 can be moved towards the arrow P1 to actuate the Bowden cable cover 18, and achieve a relative movement between the Bowden cable core 10 and the Bowden cable cover 18. Through this movement, the slider reaches the actuation position B illustrated in FIG. 2. Starting from the initial position A, the slider 30 can also be moved towards the arrow P2 to move the cylindrical pin 29 towards the rocker arm 28, in order to enable in turn a braking of the Bowden cable core 10 against the counter bearing 25. The slider 30 then reaches the braking position AB. After a braking, the slider 30 is moved to the initial position A by means of the electric drive 14. The cylindrical pin 29 is then also moved back to the initial position by means of a spring element 30, so that the rocker arm 28 releases the Bowden cable core 10.

1st Embodiment

[0084] A locking device 1 is reproduced in a basic illustration in FIG. 3. The locking device has an actuating lever 4, a Bowden cable 5.6, a functional unit 3 and a lock 2. By means of the actuating lever 4, which may be, for example, an inside actuating lever, a lever 8 can be swiveled in lock 2 via the Bowden cable core 10.

[0085] The Bowden cable 5,6 and particularly the Bowden cable cover 8, 9, are divided into two parts and consist of a first part of the Bowden cable cover 6 and a second part of the Bowden cable cover 5. The first part of the Bowden cable cover 6 is firmly accommodated on one side, for example, inside a motor vehicle door 31 and, on the other hand, firmly accommodated in the housing 26 of the functional unit 3. The second part of Bowden cable cover 5 is firmly accommodated on one side in the lock housing 13 and is held longitudinally on the opposite side in a guide 33 in the housing 26 of the functional unit 3.

[0086] The functional unit 3 has a motor 12, a worm transmission 15, a spindle transmission 16, a slider 17, a detection means 34 in the form of a microswitch and a plug socket 13 for electric contact. Stop buffers 35 for the slider 17 of the spindle transmission 38 are also evident.

[0087] If the actuating lever 11 is moved towards the arrow P2, the actuating lever 4 reaches the dotted position of the actuating lever 11 after a piston stroke H. As is evident, only a small piston stroke h is generated by the actuating lever. A detection means that is not illustrated detects the movement of the actuating lever 11, so that a control signal can be forwarded to the functional unit 3. The worm transmission is controlled by means of the electric drive 12, whereby the worm transmission 15 is designed as one piece with the spindle 16 of the spindle transmission in this exemplary embodiment. The movement of the transmission 15 results in the slider 17 being moved to the left towards the lock 2 in FIG. 3, so that a force can be exerted on the second part of the Bowden cable cover 5. Here, the slider 17 rests on the second part of the Bowden cable cover 5 and extends the relative length of the Bowden cable 5, 6 by moving the slider 17, which in turn leads to a shortening of the relative length of the ends of the Bowden cable cores 36, 37. Since the actuating lever 4 in the position shown with continuous lines fits against a fixed stop, the free end 37 of the Bowden cable core 10 is drawn into the Bowden cable 5, 6, which in turn leads to a movement of the lever 8 to the dot-dashed position. The movement of the slider 17 in the housing 26 of the functional unit 3 occurs along the guide 33, whereby the piston stroke H is available for the movement of the slider 17. The piston stroke H is much larger than the piston stroke h, so that only an initialization of the functional unit 3 has to be performed by the actuating lever 4 in order to enable the piston stroke H and thus the actuation of the lever 8. The microswitch 34 is attached to a control curve of the slider 17 and can be used to evaluate the location of the slider.

[0088] It should be noted once again that the example illustrated here only shows a slider 17, which can be moved towards the lock and thus rests on the second part of the Bowden cable cover 5, 6. If, for example, another spindle 16 is arranged on the worm gear, which is arranged in the direction of the first part of the Bowden cable cover, and if a corresponding slider 17 is also arranged there, a displacement or relative movement of the Bowden cable in relation to the Bowden cable core 10 can be enabled in both directions. This results in an advantage for the driver in that the actuating lever 4 only has to be actuated until a detection means detects the movement of the actuating lever 4 and then forwards a control signal to the functional unit.

2nd Embodiment

[0089] FIG. 4 illustrates a three-dimensional view of an actuator 41 in an embodiment as an actuating means or actuating module or opening module. Here, the actuator is inserted between a Bowden cable 42, 43, where the first part 42 of a Bowden cable cover is firmly connected to the housing 44 of the actuator and the second part of the Bowden cable 43 is fixed to an actuating means 45. A Bowden cable core 46 can be freely guided through the actuator 41.

[0090] The actuator 41 has a housing 44 in which an electric motor 47, a first worm transmission 48 and a spindle drive 49 formed as one piece with the worm transmission are arranged. On the spindle 50, an actuating means 45 is arranged so that it can be linearly guided in the housing 44. The actuating means 45 interacts with the end stops 51, which restrict a movement of the actuating means 50 into the housing 44. The end stops are preferably formed as thermoplastic rubber dampers. A microswitch 52 continues to interact with the actuating means 45, whereby the microswitch 52, as well as the electric motor 47, can be controlled via a plug socket 53 and can be supplied with power.

[0091] A surrounding housing cover seal 55 is inserted into a flat surface 54 of the housing 44. A flat surface is thus available for sealing the housing and, in particular, for mounting a housing cover that is not illustrated.

[0092] The housing 44 also has an opening 56 through which the actuating means 45 can be moved out of the actuator 41. A seal 57 is arranged in a circular form surrounding the opening 56, which is connected to the housing 44 in a form-fitting, firmly bonded and/or non-positive manner.

[0093] In this embodiment, the actuator is formed as an actuating module for a Bowden cable 42, 43. If, for example, the electric drive 47 is controlled via a control signal, the actuating means 45 is actuated by the worm transmission 48 and the spindle drive 49, so that the actuating means 45 can be moved out of the position shown in FIG. 4 from the housing 44 of the actuator 41. The movement of the actuating means 45 causes the part of the Bowden cable 43 to be moved relative to the Bowden cable core 46, so that a lever or component connected to the Bowden cable core can be moved.

[0094] A detailed view of the opening 56 of the housing 44 is reproduced in FIG. 5. The illustration shows a sealing cap 58 which is connected to the housing 44 by means of a lock bar 59. The opening 56 also has accommodation openings 60, 61 for inserting the lock bar 59 into the housing 44. The actuating means 45, which is guided and accommodated in the sealing cap 58, is also evident. A ring nut 62 can also be seen on the sealing cap 58, which is used to accommodate a sealant. A bearing point of the spindle 10 is also evident. The sealing cap 58 is reproduced in the position fixed to the housing 44.

[0095] A view of the sealing cap 58 in relation to the arrangement in the housing 44 is reproduced in FIG. 6. The bars 63 which extend symmetrically to the circumference of the sealing cap 58 can be seen. The bars 63 enable the sealing cap to be manually mounted. It is also evident that the sealing cap 58 is also attached in a form-fitting manner to the housing 44. In particular, a ring bar 64 is formed on the housing, which enables a form-fitting installation of the sealing cap.

[0096] FIG. 7 illustrates a side view of the actuator 41 and a view of the plug socket 53. The actuator 41 is integrated into a Bowden cable 42, 43, whereby an imaginary first level E1 extends along the Bowden cable 42, 43. A flat surface 54 is arranged in relation to the first level E1 in a second level E2. Starting from the first part 2 of the Bowden cable, the second level E2 is arranged so that it is offset at an angle W to the first level E1. The angle W can be selected in such a manner that a contact surface can be formed for the sealing cap 58 on the housing 44.

[0097] Furthermore, the second level E2 also forms a flat surface 54 to accommodate a housing cover.

[0098] A sectional view along the line V-V from FIG. 7 is reproduced in FIG. 8. A bellows 65 is inserted into a ring nut 62 of the sealing cap 58, whereby another end 66 is inserted into a ring nut 67 of the actuating means 45. The fixing of the Bowden cable 43 in the actuating means 45 is also evident. The actuating means 45 is illustrated in a position drawn into or moved into the housing 44, so that the bellows 65 is reproduced in a contracted position.

[0099] FIG. 9 shows an assembling drawing with the actuator 41 inserted into a Bowden cable 42, 43. The position of the bellows 65 in relation to the actuator 41 is also evident.

3rd Embodiment

[0100] FIG. 10 shows a three-dimensional view of an actuator 71 for a motor vehicle, with an electric drive 72, a transmission level 73, a spindle 74 formed in one piece with the transmission level 73, an actuating means 75, a Bowden cable cover 76, whereby the actuating means 75 can be mounted through an opening 77 of the housing 78 of the actuator 71. The illustration shows that the 75 is connected to the spindle 74 on the one hand, or the spindle 74 has been inserted into the actuating means 75, and the actuating means 75 is shown inserted through the opening 77 to reach the mounting position.

[0101] The electric drive 72 has a worm 79 which interacts with a worm gear 80. The worm gear 80, as part of the transmission level 73, is made of plastic and formed in one piece with the spindle 74 in this embodiment. A bearing sleeve 83, 84 is mounted in each case at the axial ends 81, 82 of the spindle 74. The actuating means 75 also has the guide means 85, 86, via which the actuating means 75 can be axially guided into the housing 78.

[0102] In the housing 78, whereby only the housing shell 87 is shown here, a recess 88 is molded, into which the bearing sleeve 84 at the axial end 82 of the spindle can be inserted.

[0103] A housing cover that is not illustrated can be placed on a mounting surface 89 and can be firmly connected to the housing shell 87 by means of a screw opening 90 or a clip connection 91. A plug socket for the electrical contact of a microswitch and the electric drive 72 are also evident.

[0104] FIG. 11 illustrates a section through the housing 78 or the housing shell 87, along the line II-II of FIG. 10. The illustrated section along line L passes through the axial center of the spindle 74, whereby the line L reflects the location of a Bowden cable core inside the actuator 71. A Bowden cable core that stretches along line L can be freely moved through the actuator 71 by the actuator 71 in the illustrated embodiment. A Bowden cable can be fixed by means of a press fit, for example, in the extension 84 of the housing shell 87.

[0105] In order to reach the mounting position of the spindle 74, the spindle must be slid in towards the arrow P3 in the recess 88 of the housing shell 87. The spindle 74 reaches its final mounting position only when the contact surface 95 reaches the axial end of the recess 88. In the mounting position, the bearing sleeve sits fully in the recess 78, whereby the bearing sleeve arrives axially against the contract surface 95. That the spindle 74 has not yet reached its final mounting position can also be seen from the fact that the worm gear 80 is not yet located centrally above the worm 79.

[0106] FIG. 12 illustrates a view from the direction of the arrow III towards the housing shell 87 with a spindle or worm gear 80 located in the mounting position. The mounting position or the reaching of the mounting position can also be seen from the fact that the actuating means 75 fits against the end stops 96 in the housing shell 87. The axial end 82 of the spindle 74 is inserted or fully accommodated in the recess 78 of the housing shell 77.

[0107] The mounting position of the actuating means 75 in the housing shell is reproduced in turn in FIG. 13. In addition, FIG. 13 shows a schematic section through the axial end 81 of the spindle 74 with a schematically illustrated embodiment of the bearing sleeve 83. The bearing sleeve 83 entirely encloses the axial end 81 of the spindle 74, but has a conical extension at the axial end, which ends in a small diameter d. Here, the diameter d is less than the extensive diameter D of the bearing sleeve 83 in the area of the spindle end 81. It is through this bearing sleeve 83, which also has a pointed form, that the bearing sleeve 83 only comes in contact with the small diameter d on the contact surface of the housing. This offers the advantage that lower friction values have to be overcome, and thus the spindle 74 can be easily stored in the housing 78 of the actuator 71.

[0108] The bearing sleeve 83 in its mounting position in the actuator 71 is reproduced in FIG. 14. For the fixing or final storage of the spindle 74 in the housing 78, the bearing sleeve 83 is fixed in the actuator 71 by means of a housing cover that is not illustrated. Here, the pointed end 97 of the bearing sleeve 83 comes in contact with the contact surface 98. Due to the inventive accommodation of the spindle 74 in the actuator, a high level of operational safety as well as a long service life and ease of movement of the spindle can be realized.

1 LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS FOR FIGS. 1 TO 3

[0109] 2 Lock [0110] 3 Functional unit [0111] 4 Actuating lever [0112] 5, 6 Bowden cable [0113] 7 Lock interior [0114] 8, 8 Lever [0115] 9 Axis [0116] 10 Bowden cable core [0117] 11, 11 Actuating lever [0118] 12 Electric motor [0119] 13 Plug socket [0120] 14 Electric drive [0121] 15 Worm transmission [0122] 16 Spindle [0123] 17, 30 Slider [0124] 18 Bowden cable cover [0125] 19 Functional unit interior [0126] 20 Axis [0127] 21 Brake lever [0128] 22 Contact surface [0129] 23 Control contour [0130] 24 Braking surface [0131] 25 Counter bearing [0132] 26 Housing [0133] 27 Brake unit [0134] 28 Rocker arm [0135] 29 Cylindrical pin [0136] 30 Spring [0137] 31 Motor vehicle door [0138] 32 Lock housing [0139] 33 Guide [0140] 34 Detection means [0141] 35 Stop buffers [0142] 36, 37 Ends of the Bowden cable core [0143] 38 Spindle transmission [0144] P1, P2 Arrow [0145] A Initial position [0146] B Actuation position [0147] AB Braking position [0148] h, H Hub

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS FOR FIGS. 4 TO 9

[0149] 41 Actuator [0150] 42, 43 Bowden cable [0151] 44 Housing [0152] 45 Actuator [0153] 46 Bowden cable core [0154] 47 Electric motor [0155] 48 Worm transmission [0156] 49 Spindle drive [0157] 50 Spindle [0158] 51 End stops [0159] 52 Microswitch [0160] 53 Plug socket [0161] 54 Flat surface [0162] 55 Housing cover seal [0163] 56 Opening [0164] 57 Seal [0165] 58 Sealing cap [0166] 59 Lock bar [0167] 60, 61 Accommodation openings [0168] 62 Ring nut [0169] 63 Bars [0170] 64 Ring bar [0171] 65 Bellows [0172] 66 End of the bellows [0173] 67 Ring bar [0174] E1 First level [0175] E2 Second level [0176] W Angle

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS FOR FIGS. 10 TO 14

[0177] 71 Actuator [0178] 72 Electric drive [0179] 73 Transmission level [0180] 74 Spindle [0181] 75 Actuating means [0182] 76 Bowden cable cover [0183] 77 Opening [0184] 78 Housing [0185] 79 Worm [0186] 80 Worm gear [0187] 81, 82 Axial end [0188] 83, 84 Bearing sleeve [0189] 85, 86 Guide means [0190] 87 Housing shell [0191] 88 Recess [0192] 89 Mounting surface [0193] 90 Screw opening [0194] 91 Clip connection [0195] 92 Plug socket [0196] 93 Microswitch [0197] 94 Extension [0198] 95, 98 Contact surface [0199] 96 End stops [0200] 97 Pointed end [0201] P3 Arrow [0202] L Line [0203] d, D Diameter