Locking system for a motor vehicle

Abstract

A locking system for a motor vehicle having a disc-shaped rotational member, a drive for rotating the rotational member around a rotational axis and a lever which can be moved by the rotational member. A ramp is provided on the disc-shaped rotational member and the locking system is set up in such a manner that the lever can be pivoted by the ramp when the rotational member is rotated by the drive. A particularly flexible adjustment to the available installation space can thus be achieved, at the same time as a particularly high degree of efficiency of the mechanical power transmission.

Claims

1. A locking system for a motor vehicle, the locking system comprising: a rotational member that is disk-shaped; a drive for rotating the rotational member about a rotational axis; and a lever which is movable by the rotational member, wherein the rotational member includes a ramp and the locking system is arranged such that the lever is pivotable by the ramp when the rotational member is rotated by the drive, wherein a distance of an axial upper end of the ramp from a surface of the rotational member is a function of radial distance of the axial upper end of the ramp from a central axis of the rotational member such that the distance from the surface increases as the radial distance increases.

2. The locking system according to claim 1, wherein the ramp runs obliquely to the rotational axis and slopes in a radial direction towards the rotational member.

3. The locking system according to claim 1, wherein the ramp is curved in a circumferential direction about the rotational axis.

4. The locking system according to claim 3, wherein an axial upper end of the ramp extends spirally around the rotational axis.

5. The locking system according to claim 4, wherein the ramp has a concave shape.

6. The locking system according to claim 4, wherein the lever is pivotable by the ramp about a pivot axis axially spaced from the ramp and/or the pivot axis is inclined relative to the rotational axis by an angular difference.

7. The locking system according to claim 4, wherein the lever is L-shaped or J-shaped and/or can engage over the rotational member from below the rotational member and contact the ramp.

8. The locking system according to claim 4, wherein a free end of the lever slides spirally along the ramp relative to the rotational member when the rotational member is rotated by the drive.

9. The locking system according to claim 8, wherein a pitch angle of the ramp becomes continuously flatter and/or the radial distance becomes continuously larger as the rotational member is rotated by the drive.

10. The locking system according to claim 6, wherein the angular difference is between 45° and 135°.

11. The locking system according to claim 1, wherein the rotational member has a collar with a plurality of teeth that engages a corresponding tooth profile of the drive.

12. The locking system according to claim 1 further comprising a cylindrical sleeve that forms a bearing of the rotational member.

13. The locking system according to claim 12 further comprising a lug formed on a surface of the rotational member, wherein the lug and/or the ramp extends around the cylindrical sleeve.

14. The locking system according to claim 13, wherein the lug and the cylindrical sleeve are formed on the rotational member as one piece.

15. The locking system according to claim 1, wherein the rotational member has a non-rotationally symmetrical shape.

16. The locking system according to claim 1, wherein the lever has a tubular part mounted about a pivot axis.

17. The locking system according to claim 1, wherein an actuation vector is perpendicular to a connection line from a pivot axis to a contact point between the lever and the ramp.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) In the following, exemplary embodiments of the invention are also explained in more detail by means of figures. Features of the exemplary embodiments and other subsequently described alternative or supplementary configurations can be combined individually or in a plurality. The scopes of protection described herein are not limited to the exemplary embodiments.

(2) In which:

(3) FIG. 1: Isometric representation of a drive for rotating a rotational member which is in a starting position α.sub.0 and can pivot a lever via a ramp on the rotational member;

(4) FIG. 2a: Schematic plan view of the arrangement of FIG. 1 in the starting position α.sub.0;

(5) FIG. 2b: Lateral representation of the arrangement of FIG. 2a;

(6) FIG. 3a: Schematic plan view of the arrangement of FIG. 2a during a rotation of the rotational member, shown in a first intermediate position α.sub.i;

(7) FIG. 3b: Lateral representation of the arrangement of FIG. 3a;

(8) FIG. 4a: Schematic plan view of the arrangement of FIG. 3a during the rotation of the rotary member, shown in a second intermediate position α.sub.k;

(9) FIG. 4b: Lateral representation of the arrangement of FIG. 4a.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(10) FIG. 1 shows a disk-shaped rotational member 1, in particular in the shape of a worm wheel. The rotational member 1 has a disk base body 11 and a collar 12 surrounding the disk base body 11. The narrow, annular collar 12 has a greater expansion in the axial direction than the disk base body 11 and/or protrudes axially on the circumference of the disk base body 11. This projection preferably corresponds to at least twice the thickness of the disk base body 11. A drive 3, in particular an electric motor, is equipped with a drive axis 11 which can rotate about the axis of rotation 15, which is oriented tangentially to the circumference of the rotational member 1 and/or perpendicular to the rotational axis 4. Tooth profiles 14 corresponding to each other on the circumference of the drive axis 11 and on the outer, radial lateral surface of the collar interlock to transmit a rotation and a torque of the drive 3 to the rotational member 1, which is thereby made to rotate.

(11) On the preferably flat surface of the disk base body 11 there is a ramp 5 present (hatched in FIG. 1), which extends from the surface inside the circular upper side in axial direction to form an oblique yielding on the rotational member 1. Also, a cylindrical sleeve 16, which forms a part of a bearing of the rotational member 1, and/or a lug 17 with a cylindrical lateral surface 18 is provided on this surface of the disk base body 11. In particular, the lug 17 and/or the ramp 5 extends around the sleeve 16. The ramp 5 preferably extends around the lug 17. In particular, the lug 17 projects beyond the ramp in the direction of the rotational axis 4. Preferably the ramp 5, the lug 17 and/or the sleeve 16 form optionally together with the rotational body a one-piece or at least one-piece structure, which is in particular in an edgeless conical shape. The structure has the overall form of a volcanic cone that is not rotationally symmetrical and becomes steeper in the circumferential direction. The ramp is based on the surface of the disk base body 11 and winds spirally around the lug 17, wherein the lug 17 and the ramp have a continuously increasing radius and radial expansion in the circumferential direction. An axial upper end 7 of ramp 5 has an increasing distance in the circumferential direction to the surface of the disk base body 11 and simultaneously to the rotational axis 4, whereby a spiral shape is created.

(12) Lever 2 is pivotally mounted about a pivot axis 6, which is oriented perpendicularly to the rotational axis 4 and/or at least half the diameter of the rotational member from the rotational axis 1. The lever 2 has a tubular part 19 for mounting about the pivot axis 6. The pivot axis 6 is arranged below the rotational member 1. Perpendicular to the tubular part 19 and/or perpendicular to the pivot axis 6, the lever 2 extends in a hook shape, in particular J shape and can reach from below via the collar 12 to the lower surface of the disk base body 11 in order to contact the ramp 5 with the free end 8. Preferably, the free end 8 of lever 2 is thickened in the direction of the pivot axis 6 to enable particularly reliable actuation with particularly high degree of efficiency through ramp 5. In a starting position α.sub.0 of the rotational member 1, the free end 8 lies directly on or almost on the surface of the disk base body 11.

(13) FIG. 2a shows the lever 2 and the rotational member 1 with the ramp 5 on it in plan view in the starting position α.sub.0 of rotational member 1. In one configuration, the surface of the disk base body 11 or the ramp 5 in the starting position α.sub.0 of the rotational member 1 is contacted with an end range of the free end 8 which is closest to the rotation axis 4 in the direction of the pivot axis 6. FIG. 2b shows the arrangement of the locking system of FIG. 2a in a side view. The free end 8 has the shape of a finger in cross-section and a rounded, preferably approximately semicircular end which contacts ramp 5 or is preferably only spaced from ramp 5 by a small air gap to protect the free end 8 from wear.

(14) FIGS. 3a and 3b now show, in comparison with FIGS. 2a and 2b, a pivoting of lever 2 by the ramp 5, which is contacted at a contact point 9 by the free end 8 of lever 2 and pushes lever 2 from the starting position α.sub.0 to the shown intermediate position α.sub.i as a result of the rotation. The power transmission takes place in the direction of an actuation vector 10. The actuation vector 10 extends approximately along the free end 8 of the lever 2, which indicates a power transmission with high degree of efficiency and little mechanical loss.

(15) FIGS. 4a and 4b now show, in comparison to FIGS. 3a and 3b, a continuing of pivoting of lever 2 through ramp 5 by rotation from the intermediate position α.sub.i to the intermediate position α.sub.k. The actuation vector 10, in the direction of which the power from ramp 5 acts on the free end 8 of lever 2, becomes steeper as the rotational member 1 is rotated by drive 3. The actuation vector 10 is perpendicular to a connection line 20 from the pivot axis 6 of a contact point 9 between lever 2 and ramp 5, where the free end 8 contacts the ramp 5.

(16) By the rotation of the rotational member 1 in the rotational direction shown in the figures (clockwise) the lever 2 is actuated, which in turn interacts with a not shown locking mechanism. The contact points 9 together form a spiral shape around the rotational axis with increasing radius.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

(17) 1 Rotational member 2 Lever 3 Drive 4 Rotational axis 5 Ramp 6 Pivot axis 7 Axial upper end of the ramp 8 Free end of the lever 9 Contact point 10 Actuation vector 11 Disk base body 12 Collar 13 Drive axis 14 Tooth profile 15 Axis of rotation 16 Sleeve 17 Lug 18 Lateral surface of the lug 19 Tubular part of the lever 20 Connecting line α.sub.0 Starting position α.sub.i, α.sub.k Intermediate positions