LOCKING MECHANISM FOR A BACKREST OF A VEHICLE

Abstract

A locking mechanism for a backrest of a vehicle includes a rotary latch engageable over a locking striker fixed to the vehicle and a detent pawl having a first contact surface configured for contacting against the rotary latch, when the rotary latch rotates with a first pivoting movement, to establish a first locking position wherein the rotary latch is in engagement over the locking striker. The detent pawl includes a second contact surface configured for contacting against the rotary latch, when the rotary latch rotates with an additional pivoting movement further form the first locking position, to establish a second locking position wherein the detent pawl pushes the rotary latch against the striker.

Claims

1. A locking mechanism for a backrest of a vehicle comprising: a rotary latch engageable over a locking striker fixed to the vehicle; and a detent pawl comprising a first contact surface configured for contacting against the rotary latch, when the rotary latch rotates with a first pivoting movement, to establish a first locking position wherein the rotary latch is in engagement over the locking striker, wherein the detent pawl further comprises a second contact surface configured for contacting against the rotary latch, when the rotary latch rotates with an additional pivoting movement further from the first locking position, to establish a second locking position wherein the detent pawl pushes the rotary latch to contact against the locking striker, preventing any relative movement between the locking mechanism and the locking striker.

2. The locking mechanism as in claim 1, wherein the second contact surface comprises a cam profile.

3. A seat of a vehicle comprising a locking mechanism as recited in claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] To complete the description and in order to provide for a better understanding of the disclosure, a set of drawings is provided. Said drawings form an integral part of the description and illustrate embodiments of the disclosure, which should not be interpreted as restricting the scope of the disclosure, but just as examples of how the disclosure can be carried out. The drawings comprise the following figures:

[0013] FIG. 1 is a top view of the mechanism in an unlocked position;

[0014] FIG. 2 is a top view of the mechanism in a first locking position;

[0015] FIG. 3 is a top view of the mechanism in a second locking position; and

[0016] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a detent pawl of the mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates the locking mechanism of the disclosure in an unlocked position. The mechanism comprises a rotary latch 1 and a detent pawl 3 coupled by a spring which pushes the rotary latch 1 and detent pawl 3 to a first locking position illustrated in FIG. 2.

[0018] A locking striker 2 attachable to the vehicle structure is also represented although the vehicle structure is nor illustrated.

[0019] FIG. 2 illustrates the locking mechanism in a first locking position, wherein the rotary latch 1 is engaged over the locking striker 2 and the detent pawl 3 is locking the rotary latch 1 in the first locking position. The first locking position is a position in which the rotary latch 1 is engaged over the striker 2 and cannot return back to an unlock position as of FIG. 1 unless the user pushes an unblocking button 4. In this position the backrest is placed substantially vertical and cannot be folded onwards.

[0020] As explain previously, due to manufacturing/assembly tolerances, there can be a gap 5 between the rotary latch 1 and the locking striker 2 which produces noises. This gap 5 can be seen in FIG. 2.

[0021] The detent pawl 3 comprises a first contact surface 6 for contacting against the rotary latch 1 to establish the first locking position, when the detent pawl 3 rotates from the unlocked position of FIG. 1 with a first pivoting movement due to the pushing force of the spring 4.

[0022] FIG. 3 illustrates the locking mechanism in a second locking position wherein the rotary latch 1 rotates further from the first locking position to a second locking position in which the rotary latch 1 is pushed against the striker 2. The detent pawl 3 comprises a second contact surface 7 for contacting against the rotary latch 1 to establish the second locking position, when the rotary latch 1 rotates with an additional pivoting movement after the first locking position.

[0023] In a preferred embodiment, the second contact surface 7 is a cam as illustrated in FIG. 4. As can be seen in this figure the distance of the points of the cam to the pivoting axis of the detent pawl 3 increases in the pivoting direction such that the more the pivoting of the detent pawl 3 the greater the amplitude of the movement of rotary latch 1 is, pressing against the striker 2. Thus, the detent pawl 3 pushes the striker 2 against the rotary latch 1 regardless the mounting/assembly tolerances between striker 2 and mechanism.

[0024] For smaller diameters of the striker 2, the pivoting of the detent pawl 3 is larger such that the rotary pawl 1 moves further and contacts against the striker 2. For greater diameters of the striker 2 the pivoting of the detent pawl 3 is small because the rotary pawl 1 needs a smaller movement to contact against the striker 2.

[0025] In this text, the term “comprises” and its derivations (such as “comprising”, etc.) should not be understood in an excluding sense, that is, these terms should not be interpreted as excluding the possibility that what is described and defined may include further elements, steps, etc.

[0026] Unless otherwise indicated, any ranges referred to in this document include the indicated end points.

[0027] The disclosure is obviously not limited to the specific embodiment(s) described herein, but also encompasses any variations that may be considered by any person skilled in the art (for example, as regards the choice of materials, dimensions, components, configuration, etc.), within the general scope of the disclosure as defined in the claims.