Electric motor actuator for a motor vehicle lock

Details Electric motor actuator for a motor vehicle lock Electric motor actuator for a motor vehicle lock

2000-12-28

2003-05-06

Knight, Anthony (Department: 3676)

Locks

Operating mechanism

Using a powered device

C070S264000, C292SDIG002

Reexamination Certificate

active

06557387

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to an electric motor actuator for a motor vehicle lock for a side door lock, rear door lock, hood lock or the like. More specifically, the present invention is directed to an electric motor actuator for a motor vehicle lock and includes a reversible drive motor and an actuator drive which can be rotary driven by the drive motor. The electric motor actuator further includes an operating lever which is dynamically coupled to the actuator drive for switching the lock into an “unlocked” and “locked” operating state, an antitheft lever which is spring-loaded with a pretensioning spring and which is dynamically coupled to the actuator drive for holding the operating lever in the “locked” operating state. An emergency actuating element is used for manually engaging an antitheft lever into an “antitheft off” operating state to overcome a catch element on the actuator drive. The antitheft lever can be switched out of the “antitheft off” operating state into an “antitheft” operating state through a pretensioning spring on the antitheft lever such that the antitheft lever is held in the “antitheft off” operating state by a control crank on the actuator drive, and is held in the “unlocked” operating state by the operating lever.
2. Description of the Related Art
German Patent DE 44 33 994 C1 discloses a conventional electric motor actuator for a motor vehicle lock including an actuator element comprising an actuator disk which is driven clockwise and counterclockwise by an electric drive motor, and therefore can be reversibly driven. Other prior art devices of the type mentioned above are disclosed in German Patent DE 33 19 354 C2, U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,277, and Published German Application DE 198 27 751 A1.
These prior art devices, however, fail to disclose a more detailed configuration of a combination including a drive motor and an actuator disk. An electric motor actuator having an actuator disk as the actuator element has proven to be compact and reliable. In one such motor vehicle lock, an actuator disk is regularly used with an actuating lever system and a locking lever system. Generally, the actuating lever system has an outer actuating lever and an inner actuating lever whereby the outer actuating lever is connected to an outside door handle, while the inner actuating lever is connected to an inner door handle. The locking lever system generally has at least one inner locking lever that is either made separately, for example, leading to an inside locking button, or can also be integrated with the inner actuating lever. On the front side doors of a motor vehicle and on the rear door of a station wagon there is also an outer locking lever which is connected to a lock cylinder and/or a remote control means.
The use of a “locked-antitheft” operating state means that the motor vehicle lock cannot be opened by undue application of force to the inner locking lever and/or the inner actuating lever. This unallowable application of force is possible after breaking a window, but should remain ineffective in the “locked-antitheft” operating state. The locking lever system of the motor vehicle lock is switched back and forth by means of the electric motor actuator between the operating states “unlocked”, “locked”, and “locked-antitheft”. The operating lever of the actuator can be manually switched back and forth between the “unlocked” and “locked” operating states. If, however, the actuator is in the “locked-antitheft” operating state, the operating lever is blocked in the “locked” operating state by way of the antitheft lever. If the electric drive motor fails in this operating position, actuation must be produced by way of a mechanical emergency actuating element which engages the antitheft lever, especially a key-actuated outer locking lever of the locking lever system. The antitheft lever with the actuator disk remains unchanged and can be mechanically/manually set back into the “antitheft-off” operating state. In this state, the operating lever is released, and can be mechanically/manually switched from the “locked” operating state into the “unlocked” operating state by actuating the inner locking lever and/or the inner actuating lever.
In the prior art devices, an emergency actuation function is implemented in that the antitheft lever is pretensioned in the “antitheft off” operating state by a pretensioning spring or the like, and can be moved by means of a driver projection on the actuator disk into the “antitheft” operating state if the operating lever at this time is in the “locked” operating state. In addition, driving by means of the actuator disk takes place via a catch which can be raised from the outer locking lever for emergency actuation. The antitheft lever then snaps back into the “antitheft off” operating state under the force of the pretensioning spring.
In such electric motor actuators, manual unlocking when the central interlock drive fails can be accomplished easily, reliably and promptly. The construction of the antitheft lever necessary for this purpose with pretensioning springs and a raisable catch is, however, relatively complex in terms of mechanical construction. In addition, when the spring of the pretensioning spring for the antitheft lever breaks, emergency mechanical actuation is no longer possible. The arrangement of the actuator disk, the operating lever and the raisable catch in the above-explained electric motor actuator is such that the catch in the “antitheft” operating state must accommodate very high forces under certain circumstances. This high application of force to the catch can only be structurally accomplished with difficulty. Only with very high quality materials which are then correspondingly expensive can this be done. Kinematically, this arrangement has a defect in that the directions of rotation of the actuator disk are not unequivocal for throwing over the operating lever.
Based upon the design having a catch and pretensioning spring on the antitheft lever, it is necessary that the operating lever is thrown over once clockwise, another time counterclockwise into the same operating state, therefore, into a “locked” or “unlocked” operating state. Which direction of rotation is actually necessary is then determined by the respective position of the catch. Therefore a very intelligent, efficient electronic control is necessary; this again results in major costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages in improving the design of the conventional electric motor actuator of the initially mentioned type with consideration of the requirements for emergency mechanical actuation.
This object is achieved in an electric motor actuator for a motor vehicle lock having an antitheft lever that is automatically controlled by an actuator drive, and thus not in conjunction with an operating lever. Control of the antitheft lever takes place such that the antitheft lever is pretensioned by means of a pretensioning spring or the like in the direction of an “antitheft” operating state, and therefore, can be switched from an “antitheft off” operating state into an “antitheft” operating state. If the pretensioning spring breaks, the antitheft lever remains either in the “antitheft off” operating state or can be manually/mechanically switched into an operating state by means of an emergency actuation mechanism. Moreover, an additional catch is not employed since the antitheft lever can be held by a control crank on the actuator drive or disk in the “antitheft off” operating state.
Other advantages are provided due to the elimination of an addition catch, and thereby an additional spring mechanism. In addition, control of the electric motor actuator can be made simple due to the overall construction causes the actuator disk to unambiguously activate the operating lever. Consequently, a single direction of rotation of the actuator disk is always assigned to the displacement of the operating le

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