MOTOR VEHICLE LOCK

Abstract

A motor vehicle lock comprising a locking mechanism having a rotary latch and at least one pawl, wherein the rotary latch can be latched in at least one latching position by means of the pawl; a release lever, wherein the locking mechanism can be transferred from the latching position into a release position by means of the release lever; and an electric drive unit for actuating the release lever, wherein the locking mechanism is arranged in a wet region of the motor vehicle lock, and at least part of the actuating mechanism for unlocking the locking mechanism is arranged in a dry region of the motor vehicle lock.

Claims

1. A motor vehicle lock comprising: a locking mechanism having a rotary latch and a pawl, wherein the rotary latch is latched in a latching position by the pawl; a release lever, wherein the locking mechanism is transferred from the latching position into a release position by the release lever acting on the pawl to disengage the pawl from the rotary latch; and an electric drive unit comprising an actuating mechanism for actuating the release lever, wherein the locking mechanism is arranged in a wet region of the motor vehicle lock, and at least part of the actuating mechanism for unlocking the locking mechanism is arranged in a dry region of the motor vehicle lock that is separated from the wet region.

2. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1, wherein the electric drive unit further comprises an electric motor and a gear stage, wherein the gear stage is a component of the actuating mechanism.

3. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 2, wherein the gear stage has an actuating lever.

4. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 3, wherein the actuating lever is engageable with the release lever.

5. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 3, wherein the actuating lever is firmly connected to the release lever in order to transmit a drive power to the release lever.

6. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 3, wherein the actuating lever extends from the dry region into the wet region of the motor vehicle lock.

7. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 3, further comprising a seal that is arranged in a region of an opening for the actuating lever that seals the dry region from the wet region.

8. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 7, wherein the seal is a sealing ring.

9. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 7, wherein the seal is mounted on the actuating lever or the release lever.

10. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 7, wherein the seal is inserted into the release lever.

11. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 7, wherein the seal is integrated into the release lever or the actuating lever by a two-component injection-molding process.

12. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 7, further comprising a housing, wherein the seal is integrated into the housing by a two-component injection-molding process.

13. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1, further comprising a lock housing that separates the wet region from the dry region, and the lock housing houses electrical components of the electric drive unit within the dry region.

14. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 13, wherein at least part of the actuating mechanism is located in the housing within the dry region.

15. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 14, wherein the housing includes an opening through which the actuating mechanism extends, and a seal positioned in the opening and around the actuating mechanism that seals the dry region from the wet region.

16. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 2, wherein the gear stage has a worm gear.

17. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 6, wherein the actuating lever extends from the electric drive unit located within the dry region into the release lever located within the wet region.

Description

[0027] In the drawings:

[0028] FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional view of the actuating chain for unlocking the locking mechanism, wherein a section through the actuating lever and a pivot axis of the pawl is shown; and

[0029] FIG. 2 shows a further view of a section through the actuating lever and the axis of the pawl, to illustrate the position and function of the seal on the actuating lever.

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a motor vehicle lock 1 in a three-dimensional view and, in the region of a locking mechanism 2, in a section through the actuating lever 3. The locking mechanism 2 comprises a rotary latch 4 and a pawl 5. The pawl 5 is supported on an axis 6, wherein the axis 6 is received on one side in a reinforcement plate 7. The axis 6 is supported on both sides, wherein, for better clarification of the invention, the lock case for opposite mounting of the axis 6 is not shown. The pawl 5 has a metal core 8 and is provided with a plastic coating 9. The plastic coating 9 can in turn have damping properties. The pawl 5 interacts indirectly with the rotary latch 4, wherein a pivotably mounted, rolling blocking element 10 is arranged in the rotary latch 4. The locking mechanism 2 in the form shown in FIG. 1 thus consists of the pawl axis 6, the pawl 5, the blocking element 10, and the rotary latch 4. The locking mechanism 2 can have further components.

[0031] A release lever 11 acts on the pawl 5. The release lever 11 is provided with a return spring 12 and has a recess 13 into which a seal 14 is inserted. The seal 14 itself is mounted on the actuating lever 3 and seals the wet region 15 against the dry region 16 in the motor vehicle lock 1. The actuating lever 3 extends from the wet region 16 into the dry region 15, wherein the actuating lever extends through the housing of the motor vehicle lock 1. The housing 17 has an opening 18 for this purpose. The opening 18 can at the same time form a bearing point for the actuating lever 3. A lever arm 19 is integrally formed on the actuating lever 3 and can be brought into engagement with a worm gear 20.

[0032] FIG. 1 shows a main latching position of the locking mechanism 2, wherein the pawl 5 is in engagement with the rotary latch 4 and in particular with the blocking element 10. The pawl 5 is mounted in the axis 6 and held in the reinforcement plate 7 and the lock case. The pawl and actuating lever 3, as well as the release lever 11, are accommodated in the motor vehicle lock 1 so as to be pivotable about a central axis M. If the actuating lever 3 is pivoted around the central axis M, wherein the actuating lever 3 is driven via the lever arm 19 and the electric motor, the actuating lever 3 also pivots the release lever 11 in the direction of arrow P in FIG. 1 in a clockwise direction. A driving contour on the release lever 11 then causes the pawl 5 to pivot about the central axis M so that the pawl 3 and the rotary latch 4 or blocking element 10 are disengaged. In this case, the engagement between pawl 5 and rotary latch 4 is not undone, but the pawl 3 rolls on the blocking element 10 so that easy and quiet opening can be achieved.

[0033] FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the motor vehicle lock 1 with a view of the actuating chain 21. Shown is a section through the housing 17, the pawl 5, the axis 6, the reinforcement plate 7, the release lever 11, the seal 8, the actuating lever 3, and the worm gear wheel 22.

[0034] The actuating lever 3 is pivotably accommodated, on the one hand, in the opening 18 and, on the other, in the housing 17. The dry region 15 and the wet region 16 are separated by a housing wall 23, wherein the opening 18 is penetrated by the actuating lever 3. The position of the seal 8, which in this embodiment is accommodated in the release lever 11 and seals the opening 18 against the housing wall 23 by means of a sealing lip 24, can be clearly seen.

[0035] The worm gear 20 drives the actuating lever 3, wherein a contour on the worm gear 20 acts on the lever arm 19, and thus effects a pivoting of the actuating lever. The actuating lever 3 and the release lever 11 are firmly connected to one another in a form-fitting manner, so that the torque introduced into the release lever 11 by the actuating lever 3 can be used for actuating the pawl 5, and thus for unlocking the locking mechanism 2.

[0036] In any case, the solution according to the invention makes available a secure means for providing, on the one hand, a structurally favorable option for driving the release lever 11 or for unlocking the locking mechanism 2, and, on the other, a secure sealing in the motor vehicle lock can be ensured by means of the seal 14. In particular, the electric drive or the electrical components in the motor vehicle lock 1 can thus be accommodated in the motor vehicle lock 1 so as to be protected from environmental influences.

TABLE-US-00001 List of reference signs 1 Motor vehicle lock 2 Locking mechanism 3 Actuating lever 4 Rotary latch 5 Pawl 6 Axis 7 Reinforcement plate 8 Metal core 9 Plastic coating 10 Blocking element 11 Release lever 12 Return spring 13 Recess 14 Seal 15 Wet region 16 Dry region 17 Housing 18 Opening 19 Lever arm 20 Worm gear 21 Actuating chain 22 Worm gear wheel 23 Housing wall 24 Sealing lip M Center axis P Arrow