Motor vehicle lock, in particular motor vehicle door lock

Abstract

A motor vehicle lock, in particular a motor vehicle door lock, which is equipped with a locking mechanism consisting essentially of a rotary latch and a pawl as locking mechanism components. In addition, a latching element, which is mounted on the rotary latch and/or the pawl so as to be pivotable primarily in a locking mechanism plane, is provided in an engagement region between the two locking mechanism components. In order to axially secure the latching element, according to the invention, at least one locking mechanism component is equipped with a cover which is made of the same material and at least partly extends over the latching element.

Claims

1. A motor vehicle lock comprising: a locking mechanism including locking mechanism components comprising a rotary latch and a pawl, and a latching element which is arranged in an engagement area between the locking mechanism components and which is pivotally mounted on the rotary latch or the pawl at least in part in a plane of the locking mechanism, wherein for axially securing the latching element, at least one of the locking mechanism components is equipped with a cover of a first material, and the cover at least partially overlaps the latching element, wherein the at least one of the locking mechanism components that is equipped with the cover is multi-layer with a core layer provided between cover layers on both sides of the core layer that comprise the cover, wherein the cover layers extend beyond the core layer to overlap the latching element such that a bearing axis of the latching element extends between the cover layers such that a portion of the latching element is provided between the cover layers on both sides of the portion of the latching element.

2. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1, wherein the cover layers and the core layer are produced from the first material.

3. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1, wherein the cover layers and the core layer have a same material thickness.

4. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1, wherein the cover layers and the core layer are coupled to one another by an external connector.

5. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1, wherein the cover layers and the core layer are connected to one another by a forming process without filler material, or by a joining process.

6. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1, wherein the latching element is rotatably mounted on the rotary latch.

7. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 6, wherein the latching element has a bearing tooth that engages with the rotary latch in a joint recess of the rotary latch.

8. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 7, wherein the latching element has a reinforcement element positioned on an end of the latching element opposite from the bearing tooth, and the reinforcement element engages with the pawl.

9. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1, wherein the cover layers and the core layer are produced from different material, with a material of the core layer being tougher than the first material of the cover layers.

10. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 9, wherein the core layer and the cover layers are made of different types of steel, or made of different metals.

11. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1, wherein the cover layers and the core layer have a different material thickness, with the core layer being thicker than the cover layers.

12. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 4, wherein the external connector includes at least one of rivets, screws, or a sheathing.

13. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 2, wherein the first material is steel.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) In the following, the invention is explained in more detail with the aid of a drawing showing only an exemplary embodiment; in the figures:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a partial schematic side view of the motor vehicle lock according to the invention, particularly the motor vehicle door lock, and

(3) FIG. 2 shows a further view of the motor vehicle lock or motor vehicle door lock according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(4) In the drawings, a motor vehicle lock is shown, which is not limited to a motor vehicle door lock. In its basic design, this has a locking mechanism 1, 2 consisting of the two substantially locking mechanism components, namely rotary latch 1 and pawls 2. In principle, however, the locking mechanism 1, 2 can also be equipped with more than one pawl 2, although this is not represented in detail.

(5) The other basic structure includes a latching element 4 arranged in the engagement area 3 between the two locking mechanism components 1, 2. According to the exemplary embodiment, the latching element 4 is rotatably mounted on the rotary latch 1 and can perform pivoting movements in a locking mechanism level E spanned by the locking mechanism 1, 2. In fact, in the exemplary embodiment, the design is such that the latching element 4 is rotatably mounted on the rotary latch 1 and has a bearing tooth 4a for this purpose. The bearing tooth 4a on the latching element 4 is located at one end of the latching element 4, opposite the other end of the latching element 4, which interacts with the pawl 2 according to the exemplary embodiment. For this purpose, this opposite end of the latching element 4 is equipped with a reinforcement 4b.

(6) The bearing tooth 4a engages as a whole in a joint recess 1a of the rotary latch 1 in the engagement area 3. In this manner, a bearing axis 5 is defined about which the latching element 4 is pivotably mounted in the locking mechanism level E, namely relative to the rotary latch 1 bearing the latching element 4.

(7) In accordance with the invention, the relevant locking mechanism component 1, 2 supporting the latching element 4, in the exemplary embodiment the rotary latch 1, is now equipped with a material-like cover 6 at least partially overlapping the latching element 4 for axially securing the latching element 4, which can be understood particularly by comparing FIGS. 1 and 2. According to the exemplary embodiment, the rotary latch 1 is equipped with a multi-layer with a core layer 1b and a cover layer 1c having the cover 6. It can be seen that, according to the exemplary embodiment, the core layer 1b is provided and realized between two cover layers 1c on both sides. The cover layers 1c on both sides are each equipped with the cover 6, so that the bearing axis 5, which in the side view extends between the two covers 6, is axially secured in this manner. The same applies to the latching element 4.

(8) The design is such that the cover layer 1c overlaps the core layer 1b by the amount of the cover 6. In fact, the cover 6 is designed and configured in such a manner that it at least covers the engagement area 3 between the relevant locking mechanism component 1, 2, in the exemplary embodiment the rotary latch 1, and the latching element 4, in order to be able to provide in this manner for the axial securing of the bearing axis 5 and thus of the latching element 4. In other words, according to the exemplary embodiment, the two cover layers 1c on both sides of the core layer 1b with the respective covers 6 provided thereby ensure that the latching element 4 is thereby secured axially and consequently cannot perform any axial movements along the bearing axis 5. Rather, any movement of the latching element 4 relative to the rotary latch 1 is ultimately and solely reduced to the locking mechanism level E, within which the latching element 4 can pivot relative to the rotary latch 1.

(9) The cover layer 1c or the respective cover layer 1c and the core layer 1b are generally produced from the same or different metals. For example, a particularly tough steel can be used for the core layer 1b in order to be able to control the tensile forces that the core layer 1b usually has to absorb on the locking mechanism 1, 2. In contrast, the cover layer 1c can be produced from a steel that is not as tough as the core layer 1b. In principle, a metal other than steel is also conceivable for the realization of the cover layer 1c in this context.

(10) In addition, the side view shows that the cover layer 1c and the core layer 1b have the same or different material thicknesses s.sub.1, s.sub.2. In most cases, the design is such that the core layer 1b has a material thickness s.sub.1 many times greater than the material thickness of the cover layer. For example, thickness ratios of 2:1 and more are observed at this point.

(11) This means that the material thickness s.sub.1 of the core layer 1b is generally at least twice as thick as the material thickness s.sub.2 of the respective cover layer 1c. In most cases, ratios s.sub.1:s.sub.22:1 are even observed.

(12) In order to connect the individual layers 1b, 1c of the rotary latch 1 to one another, external connecting means can generally be used. Here it is conceivable, for example, to work with rivets or screws that reach through the individual layers 1b, 1c together and thereby couple them. A connection of the individual layers 1b, 1c is also possible by means of a plastic sheathing 7, which is only indicated in the figures. In addition, the individual layers 1b, 1c can also be connected to one another by a forming process without filler material or a heat joining process.

(13) In this location, the so-called through-joining or clinching process has proven to be particularly favorable as a suitable forming process without filler material. In this case, the relevant layers 1b, 1c are each point-clinched together by joining or clinching the layers 1b, 1c together using point-acting plungers. Alternatively or additionally, the layers 1b, 1c can also be firmly connected to each other by means of a heat joining process. In such a heat joining process, the layers 1b, 1c are simply welded together. This can be done in detail using a spot welding process or a laser welding process.

REFERENCE SIGNS

(14) Locking mechanism 1, 2 Rotary latch 1 Joint recess 1a Core layer 1b Cover layer 1c Pawl 2 Engagement area 3 Latching element 4 Bearing tooth 4a Reinforcement 4b Bearing axis 5 Cover 6 Sheathing 7 Locking mechanism level E Material thickness s.sub.1, s.sub.2