Locks – Special application – For automotive vehicles
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-09
2002-04-09
Gall, Lloyd A. (Department: 3627)
Locks
Special application
For automotive vehicles
C070S278600, C070S278700, C292S201000, C292S216000, C292SDIG002, C292SDIG002
Reexamination Certificate
active
06367296
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to motor vehicle door locks and more particularly to locks which can be locked/unlocked electrically from the outside and/or from the inside.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such locks comprise, as is known, a forked latch intended to cooperate with a striker, a pawl which normally locks the latch in the closed position, a latch-release mechanism comprising a control member which experiences an actuating movement in response to actuation of a handle of the corresponding door of the motor vehicle by the user. The control member may adopt an active position for which it acts, during its actuating movement, on the pawl in order to place it in an “escaped” or “nonobstructing” position (in which said pawl releases the latch), and an inhibited position in which said control member, during its actuating movement, has no effect on said pawl. The lock further comprises an electromechanical locking/unlocking device which responds at least to an unlocking signal by moving said control member from its inhibited position into its active position.
Vehicle door closure systems in which the unlocking signal is generated by actuation of a lock cylinder are known. In other known systems, this unlocking signal is provided by an electronic recognition device in response to an infrared remote-control or radioelectric remote-control signal produced by the user using an appropriate remote control. With these known systems, if the lock is in a locked condition, that is to say if the control member which forms part of the latch-release mechanism is in its inhibited position, two successive actions are then needed in order to open the door: first of all, the lock has to be unlocked using an appropriate means (key, remote control, etc.), then the door has to be opened, for example by pulling on its exterior handle.
It is clear that, when the vehicle is in frequent use, the fact of always having to perform two actions in order to unlock the door and access one's vehicle may be seen as a drawback. Furthermore, insofar as these known systems require the use either of a key or of a remote control, which takes up one of the user's hands, this may also be seen as an encumbrance.
This is why so-called “hands-free vehicle access” systems have already been proposed, these being supposed to allow a user to open a door of his or her vehicle directly by a single action on the exterior handle of the corresponding door, regardless of whether the lock of said door is in the locked or in the unlocked condition, and for this to be achieved without having a key, a remote control or any similar device in his or her hand for unlocking the lock. To this end, these known systems are equipped with an electronic recognition device fitted with a radio emitter and designed to be able to dialog with a radioelectric device, known as the “electronic tag” incorporated into a wristwatch, a credit card, a badge or the like worn or carried by the user. The electronic recognition device does not produce its unlocked signal until it has identified correct ownership.
In such known so-called hands-free access systems, the transmission of the unlocking signal which controls the electromechanical locking/unlocking device, on the one hand, and the actuation of the release mechanism, on the other hand, take place simultaneously. Now, the difference between the relatively long response time of the electromechanical device and the very short response time of the release mechanism is such that said control member, which forms part of the latch-release mechanism, has often completed its actuating movement even though it has not yet been brought into the active position by the electromechanical locking/unlocking device. This means that the user's first action on the door handle does not cause the door to open and that said user has to operate said handle again in order to cause the door to open. This need to operate the door handle twice is obviously a drawback for a system which was supposed to allow the door to be opened in a single action.
French patent application No. 98/05604 filed on May 4, 1998, and corresponding U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/127,765, entitled “Electrically locked motor vehicle door lock”, filed on Jul. 31, 1998, in the name of Hochart et al. and assigned to the same assignee as the present application suggests two solutions for overcoming this drawback. These two solutions consist in using an opening catch-up means which, when the unlocked signal is transmitted roughly at the end of the actuating travel of the control member, brings the pawl into its “escaped” position. In concrete terms, in these two known solutions, the control member which acts on the pawl to make it move into its “escaped” position or an actuating lever, which also forms part of the latch-release mechanism, is configured in such a way as to have a ramped-shaped surface portion which is inclined with respect to the direction of the movement of the control member and which, at the end of the actuating travel of said control member, acts directly or indirectly, according to whether it is the first or second aforementioned solution, in the manner of a cam on the pawl so as to cause it to move into “escaped” position.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a solution for avoiding the user having to exert two actions on the door handle with a view to opening this door, and to do so without having to use an excessively powerful electric actuating device for unlocking the lock and causing the pawl to move into its “escaped” position.
To this end, the invention provides an electrically locked/unlocked lock for a hands-free access motor vehicle door, comprising:
a) a forked latch intended to interact with a striker;
b) a pawl which locks the latch in the closed position and which can adopt an “escaped” position in which it no longer acts on the latch;
c) a mechanism for releasing the latch, including a member for operating from the outside which can undergo an actuating movement in response to actuation of a handle on the outside of said door by a user and which, in a condition in which the lock is unlocked from the outside, can, during its actuating movement, act on the pawl to bring it into said “escaped” position;
d) an electromechanical locking/unlocking device including an electric device for actuating from the outside which reacts at least to a signal for locking or unlocking from the outside, so as to cause the lock to move into said condition in which it is locked or unlocked from the outside;
e) an electronic recognition device capable of producing said unlocking signal when it receives an appropriate control signal from, for example, a remote control or an appropriate electronic tag device worn or carried by the owner of the vehicle or by an authorized user;
characterized in that this lock furthermore comprises an energy accumulation device which includes a spring means and which is interposed between said control member and said pawl in such a way that when the lock is in the condition in which it is locked from the outside, said spring means stores up energy by being stressed by said control member during its actuating movement in response to actuation of said exterior door handle and so that when the lock passes into the condition in which it is unlocked from the outside, in response to said unlocking signal, roughly at the end of the actuating travel of said control member, the energy stored up in said spring means is released and the energy accumulation device causes said pawl to move into its “escaped” position.
This being the case, when the electronic recognition device identifies the correct owner or an authorized user and when the latter pulls on the door handle, the pawl is automatically brought into its “escaped” position and the latch is released, by virtue of the “free” energy stored up in the spring means when actuating the door handle. The result of this is that the electric drive
Connolly Bove & Lodge & Hutz LLP
Gall Lloyd A.
Valeo Securite Habitacle
LandOfFree
Motor vehicle door lock that can be electrically... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Motor vehicle door lock that can be electrically..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Motor vehicle door lock that can be electrically... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2853840