CN211369894U - Electric door lock for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model provides an automobile-used electric door lock, it includes: an actuator motor including a motor body and an output shaft with a worm; a sector gear disposed below the output shaft; a lock link operatively connected to the sector gear; a locking handle arranged to pivot between an unlocked position and a locked position; the central control switch is arranged below the motor body and adjacent to the sector gear, so that when the sector gear is pivoted in a first direction, the central control switch is triggered and sends an electric signal for locking the door lock to a vehicle body control system. Wherein the utility model discloses a volume reduction, weight reduction and manufacturing cost of automobile-used electric door lock are correspondingly reduceed, and this has promoted the product competitiveness of automobile-used electric door lock.

Description

Electric door lock for vehicle

Technical Field

The utility model relates to an automobile lock, in particular to automobile-used electric door lock.

Background

With the rapid and diversified development of automobiles in various countries, the shapes and the internal arrangement of automobile door systems are also different, and customers put forward higher requirements on the anti-theft grade of automobile door locks. In order to meet the higher level requirements of users, automobile door locks are gradually changed from traditional mechanical type to electric type. The function of the general electric door lock for the vehicle is to convert different electric control signals input by a body module controller (namely BCM) into different mechanical movements so as to realize electric locking and unlocking actions.

In fact, the existing automobile central control electric door lock not only can convert different electric signals input by a module controller into different mechanical motions so as to realize electric locking and unlocking actions; the input mechanical motion mode can be converted into an electric signal which can be recognized by the vehicle body module controller, so that the vehicle body module controller can control the locking and unlocking actions of other electric door locks of the whole vehicle. In other words, the current central control electric door lock of the automobile is not only an actuating mechanism for electric locking and unlocking actions, but also a sending mechanism for the electric locking and unlocking actions of the whole automobile. It is advantageous for the vehicle control to have the vehicle door lock send a recognizable electrical signal to the body module controller, for example to allow the driver to be alerted during the driving of the vehicle whether the respective door of the vehicle is presently closed, so as to improve the driving safety of the vehicle. Or, when the respective doors are not completely closed, the driver is reminded or prohibited to run the vehicle at a speed exceeding the safe range to provide safety of running, and the like.

The traditional central control electric door lock of the automobile generally adopts a sliding piece type structure, and a main mode for extracting a control signal by a body module controller matched with the electric door lock is to utilize the change process of a contact resistance of a reed and a sliding piece of a locking device, specifically, when the sliding piece enables two wires to be connected, a BCM (binary coded modulation) outputs an unlocking signal, and the whole automobile lock is positioned in an unlocking state in the state. However, after a period of use, it is found that the contact characteristics of the sliding closure are closely related to the manufacturing and process, and in real life, many manufacturers still cannot effectively control the contact characteristics. Therefore, effective control and state outward transmission of the automobile central control electric door lock cannot be reliably realized.

As a feasible technical solution to the above problem, an automobile door lock with a micro switch is proposed, which includes a mechanical door lock and an electric actuator, wherein the electric actuator can act under the control of a body module controller and realize the unlocking and locking of the mechanical door lock. Specifically, referring to fig. 1, the cam 92 is directly or indirectly driven to rotate by means of a motor 91 as an electric actuator to effect unlocking and locking actions. Meanwhile, in order to feed back an identifiable electric signal to the vehicle body module controller, a micro switch 93 is arranged on the shell of the door lock, and the pressing action and the contact of the pressing action of the cam 92 on the micro switch are used for realizing the acquisition and the transmission of a control signal. In practical use, the automobile electric door lock with the micro switch is proved to be reliable in operation compared with the automobile door lock with the sliding sheet type structure, but the following defects still exist: since there is a large clearance between the arrangement position of the cam 92 and the housing, in order to ensure that the microswitch 93 is located within the pivotal movement range of the cam 92, it is often necessary to select a microswitch 93 of a large size, which disadvantageously increases the production cost of the electric door lock for an automobile, and also does not contribute to the miniaturization and weight reduction of the electric door lock for an automobile.

Thus, while existing power door locks for vehicles are suitable in many respects, there is still a need for improvement, particularly to provide a more compact, lighter, and lower cost power door lock for vehicles.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The utility model aims at providing an automobile-used electric door lock is with solving above-mentioned prior art not enough partially at least, according to the utility model discloses an automobile-used electric door lock compares with prior art, can reduce automobile-used electric door lock's whole overall dimension and weight, can also reduce lock manufacturing cost simultaneously favorably.

According to the utility model discloses an aspect provides an electric door lock for vehicle, and it includes: an actuator motor including a motor body and an output shaft with a worm;

a sector gear disposed below the output shaft and having a worm wheel matched with the worm along an outer circumference to allow the sector gear to be driven to pivotally move in a first direction via the actuator motor; a lock link operatively connected to the sector gear to pivot toward the engaged position upon pivotal movement of the sector gear in a first direction; a lock handle arranged to be pivotable between an unlock position to unlock the door and a lock position to lock the door, wherein when the lock link is in the engaged position, the lock link engages the lock handle to hold it in the lock position; a center switch disposed adjacent to the sector gear below the motor body such that the center switch is activated and sends an electrical signal for locking the door to a vehicle body control system when the sector gear is pivotally moved in a first direction.

In view of this, compared with the prior art, the utility model discloses an electric door lock for vehicle's transmission relation is simple, through in the transmission chain most essential link-near setting central control switch of sector gear, allows reliably and compactly to gather the required state signal of electric door lock for vehicle of automobile body control system. Compared with the prior art, the utility model discloses an automobile-used electric door lock only through the mounted position and the actuating mode of control switch in the adjustment, just can realize drawing the required automobile-used electric door lock's of automobile body control system status signal with simple, reliable and low-cost mode. Further, compare with existing product, adopt the utility model discloses technical scheme's automobile-used electric door lock's volume reduces, weight reduction and manufacturing cost are correspondingly reduceed. The benefits greatly contribute to improving the overall market competitiveness of the vehicle door lock.

In a preferred embodiment, the actuator motor is further capable of driving the sector gear to pivotally move in a second direction, the pivotal movement of the sector gear in the second direction allowing the latch link to pivot toward the disengaged position to disengage the latch handle, wherein the pivotal movement of the sector gear in the second direction is away from the central switch.

In a preferred embodiment, the sector gear is further provided along its periphery with a fork, and the locking link is further provided along its periphery with a projection that is form-fit with the fork, thereby allowing the pivotal movement of the sector gear to be converted into the pivotal movement of the locking link.

In a preferred embodiment, the locking handle is at least partially arranged in overlapping relation with the locking link such that a locking portion projecting outwardly from the locking handle engages an outer periphery of the locking link.

In a preferred embodiment, a return spring is further included for applying a biasing force to the locking handle to allow the locking handle to be held in the unlocked position.

In a preferred embodiment, the central control switch is a microswitch arranged in a housing of the electric vehicle door lock, and the microswitch is in communication connection with a vehicle body control system by means of an electric lead.

In a preferred embodiment, the vehicle power door latch further includes an inner release handle operatively connected to the locking link to drive pivoting thereof toward the disengaged position.

In a preferred embodiment, the electric door lock for a vehicle is a side door lock for a vehicle.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned from the practice of the invention.

Drawings

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an electric door lock for a vehicle;

fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the electric door lock for vehicles according to the present invention, with a part of the components removed;

fig. 3 shows another perspective view of the electric door lock for a vehicle, in which a part of the exterior member is removed to better show the interior structure.

Description of the reference numerals

1. An actuation motor; 2. a central control switch; 3. a sector gear; 4. a locking connecting rod; 5. a locking handle; 6. a return spring; 7. a housing; 10. an electric door lock for a vehicle; 11. a motor body; 12. an output shaft; 31. a worm; 32. a worm gear; 33. a shifting fork; 41. a boss portion; 51. a lock section; 91. a motor; 92. a cam; 93. a micro switch.

Detailed Description

Referring now to the drawings, a schematic of the electric door lock for a vehicle disclosed in the present invention will be described in detail. Although the drawings are provided to present some embodiments of the invention, the drawings are not necessarily to scale of particular embodiments, and certain features may be exaggerated, removed, or partially sectioned to better illustrate and explain the disclosure of the present invention. The position of some components in the drawings can be adjusted according to actual requirements on the premise of not influencing the technical effect. The appearances of the phrase "in the drawings" or similar language in the specification are not necessarily referring to all drawings or examples.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "secured to" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "disposed" on another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. Certain directional terms used hereinafter to describe the drawings, such as "transverse," "vertical," "front," "rear," "inner," "outer," "above," "below," and other directional terms, will be understood to have their normal meaning and refer to those directions as normally contemplated by the drawings. Unless otherwise indicated, the directional terms described herein are generally in accordance with conventional directions as understood by those skilled in the art.

As used herein, the terms "first," "second," and the like, do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another.

Some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The electric door lock for a vehicle shown here can be moved between a locked state and an unlocked state and is configured with a housing. The electric door lock for a vehicle may be integrated into a vehicle component, such as a vehicle structure located near a lift gate, trunk, driver side front door, or other operable component. The embodiments described below and the features of the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

With reference to fig. 2-3, the present invention provides an electric door lock 10 for a vehicle, wherein the electric door lock for a vehicle described herein is used to lock or unlock a driver-side front door of the vehicle, as an example. As shown in fig. 1, an electric door lock 10 for a vehicle according to the present invention mainly includes a housing 7, in which various components for locking or unlocking a vehicle door described below are disposed in the housing 7.

Specifically, the electric door lock 10 for a vehicle has an actuator motor 1 provided on an upper side of a housing, where the actuator motor 1 includes a motor body 11 and an output shaft 12. As shown in fig. 2, the actuator motor 1 is preferably arranged in a slightly inclined posture near the corners of the housing 7, thereby effectively utilizing the spatial volume of the housing 7. As shown in fig. 2, the output shaft 12 of the actuator motor 1 has a worm 31 thereon, and a sector gear 3 is disposed below the output shaft 12 having the worm 31, wherein the sector gear 3 is fixedly mounted in the housing 9 in a pivotable manner via a rivet or a pin. The sector gear 3 is at least partially provided along its periphery with a worm wheel 32 cooperating with the worm 31, which thus allows the sector gear 3 to perform a pivoting movement about its own axis under the drive of the actuator motor 1 when the actuator motor 1 is rotated by receiving an actuation signal from the outside (for example, an actuation signal from a body control system). Specifically, when the actuator motor 1 is rotated in the forward direction, the sector gear 3 is allowed to undergo pivotal movement in the clockwise direction (also referred to as a first direction) in fig. 2, and when the actuator motor 1 is rotated in the reverse direction, the sector gear 3 is allowed to undergo pivotal movement in the counterclockwise direction (also referred to as a second direction) in fig. 2. As will be described in detail later, the electric vehicle lock 10 for a vehicle allows locking and unlocking of a vehicle door by means of pivotal movement of the sector gear 3 in the first direction and the second direction. Moreover, in the present embodiment, since the sector gear 3 that needs to perform the pivotal movement is disposed below the output shaft 12 with the worm wheel 32, the electric vehicle lock is made compact, and the space utilization of the housing 7 is improved.

A fork 33 is provided along the outer periphery of one end of the sector gear 3 facing the worm wheel 32. Correspondingly, a locking link 4 extending in the horizontal direction is provided below the sector gear 3. The locking link 4 is here also mounted in a pivotable manner in the housing 9 by means of a rivet or a pin, wherein the pivot axis of the locking link 4 is substantially orthogonal to the pivot axis of the toothed segment 3. In order to achieve a driven rotation of the locking link 4 by the sector gear 3, a projection 41 is provided on the periphery of the locking link 4 which is form-fitted with the fork 33, allowing the pivotal movement of the sector gear 3 to be translated into a movement of the locking link 4 between the engaged position and the disengaged position.

Further, a lock handle 5 for effecting locking and unlocking of the door is joined to the outer periphery of the lock link 4, wherein the lock handle 5 is provided with a return spring 6 for holding it biased in the unlocked position to allow unlocking of the door. As shown in fig. 2, the locking handle 5 is provided to pivotally slide within the outwardly opening handle runner, wherein the pivot axis of the locking handle 5 is substantially parallel to the pivot axis of the locking link 4 and the locking handle 5 is located below the pivot range of the locking link 4 in a partially overlapping manner. In this embodiment, in order to achieve the engagement between the locking handle 5 and the locking link 4, the locking handle 5 is provided with an outwardly protruding locking portion 51 at the outer periphery, wherein when the locking link 4 is in the engaged position, the locking portion 51 is stopped by the locking link 4, so that the locking handle is held in its locking position against the elastic force of the return spring 6 to achieve locking of the vehicle door, which cannot be opened by the user. And when the lock link 4 is pivoted to the disengaged position, it is rotated away from engagement with the lock portion 51, which causes the lock handle 5 to return to its unlock position under the bias of the return spring 6 to be allowed to remain to allow the door to be unlocked to be opened. Accordingly, when the lock link 4 is driven to rotate to the engaged position again, the lock portion 51 is reengaged and the lock handle 5 is held to lock the door, which will not be described in detail.

In order to allow the above electric door lock for vehicles to enable a user to mechanically unlock the door from inside or outside the vehicle, thereby ensuring normal use by the user even in the event of power loss of the vehicle, an inner release handle is further provided in the electric door lock for vehicles, which inner release handle can be operatively connected to the lock link 4 by means of a pull rod or a wire to drive it to pivot toward the disengaged position, which ensures that the user is allowed to mechanically unlock from inside the vehicle to open the door under normal conditions.

In the present embodiment, in order for a vehicle body control system (not shown) to recognize the operation state of the electric door lock for the vehicle at present: in the locked state or the unlocked state. As shown in fig. 2 to 3, a center switch 2 disposed adjacent to the sector gear 3 below the motor body 11 is also provided in the housing 7. In this embodiment, the center switch 2 is a micro switch provided in the housing, which is capable of outputting an on and off electric signal to the outside via contact with the sector gear 3. Not shown here, the microswitch is connected in communication with the body control system by means of an electrical line, not shown, in order to transmit the electrical signal output by the central switch 2 to the body control system. It can also be seen that, because the central control switch 2 is arranged below the motor body 11 in a manner of being arranged side by side with the sector gear 3, the structure of the electric vehicle lock is compact, and the space utilization rate of the shell 7 is improved.

Next, the operation of the electric door lock for a vehicle of the present embodiment will be described, and it is desirable to enable automatic locking of the vehicle door when the traveling speed of the vehicle exceeds 30 km/h, for example, during traveling of the vehicle. The body control system then sends a correspondingly controlled electrical signal to the electric vehicle door lock 10, which, when received, actuates the electric motor 1 to first rotate the output shaft 12 in the forward direction. By means of the meshed connection of the worm 31 provided on the output shaft 12 and the worm wheel 32 provided on the sector gear 3, the forward pivotal movement of the output shaft of the actuator motor 1 pulls the sector gear 3 to rotate in the clockwise direction (first direction), and further, the lock link 4 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction by means of the shift fork 33 and finally rotated to the engagement position with the lock handle 5, thereby locking the vehicle door. In the process, as the central control switch 2 is arranged adjacent to the sector gear 3, the pivot motion of the sector gear 3 in the first direction will activate the central control switch 2, which causes the central control switch 2 to allow an electric signal to be sent to the vehicle body control system that the door lock of the vehicle door is locked. After receiving the electric signal reflecting the working state of the door lock of the vehicle door, the vehicle body control system can externally display the electric signal to a driver or record the electric signal as a state condition into a logic algorithm of vehicle control, so that the function of vehicle control is enriched.

When the vehicle stops, the vehicle door can be unlocked for a user to enter and exit, at the moment, the vehicle body control system sends a correspondingly controlled electric signal to the electric door lock 10 for the vehicle, and after receiving the electric signal, the actuating motor 1 can enable the output shaft 12 to rotate in the reverse direction. By means of the meshed connection of the worm 31 provided on the output shaft 12 and the worm wheel 32 provided on the sector gear 3, the reverse pivotal movement of the output shaft of the actuator motor 1 pulls the sector gear 3 to rotate in the counterclockwise direction (second direction), and further, the lock link 4 is rotated in the clockwise direction by means of the shift fork 33 and finally rotated to the disengaged position disengaged from the lock handle 5, at which time the lock handle 5 is biased at the unlock position allowing the vehicle door to be kept unlocked by the return spring 6. In the process, since the center switch 2 is disposed adjacent to the sector gear 3, the pivoting movement of the sector gear 3 in the second direction moves the sector gear 3 away from the center switch 2, which allows the center switch 2 to send an electric signal to the vehicle body control system that the door lock of the vehicle door has been unlocked. After receiving the electric signal reflecting the operating state of the door lock, the body control system can externally display the electric signal to the driver to prompt that the door can be freely opened.

From the above, according to the utility model discloses a transmission relation of automobile-used electric door lock is simple, through in the driving chain most main link-near setting central switch of sector gear, allows reliably and compactly to gather automobile body control system required automobile-used electric door lock's state signal. Compared with the prior art, the utility model discloses a mounted position and the actuating mode of accuse switch in the adjustment of automobile-used electric door lock to the state signal of automobile-used electric door lock that draws automobile body control system required with simple, reliable and low-cost mode. Further, compare with existing product, adopt the utility model discloses technical scheme's automobile-used electric door lock's volume reduces, weight reduction and manufacturing cost are correspondingly reduceed. The benefits greatly contribute to improving the overall market competitiveness of the vehicle door lock.

It is to be understood that while the specification has been described in terms of various embodiments, it is not intended that each embodiment comprises a separate embodiment, and such descriptions are provided for clarity only and should be taken as a whole by those skilled in the art, and that the embodiments may be combined to form other embodiments as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

The above description is only exemplary of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Without departing from the concept and principles of the present invention, equivalent changes, modifications and combinations that may be made by those skilled in the art should be considered within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (8)

1. An electric door lock for a vehicle, characterized in that it comprises:

an actuator motor including a motor body and an output shaft with a worm;

a sector gear disposed below the output shaft and having a worm wheel matched with the worm along an outer circumference to allow the sector gear to be driven to pivotally move in a first direction via the actuator motor;

a lock link operatively connected to the sector gear to pivot toward the engaged position upon pivotal movement of the sector gear in a first direction;

a lock handle arranged to be pivotable between an unlock position to unlock the door and a lock position to lock the door, wherein when the lock link is in the engaged position, the lock link engages the lock handle to hold it in the lock position;

a center switch disposed adjacent to the sector gear below the motor body such that the center switch is activated and sends an electrical signal for locking the door to a vehicle body control system when the sector gear is pivotally moved in a first direction.

2. The vehicle power door lock of claim 1, wherein the actuator motor is further configured to drive pivotal movement of the sector gear in a second direction, the pivotal movement of the sector gear in the second direction allowing the latch link to pivot toward the disengaged position to disengage the latch handle, wherein the pivotal movement of the sector gear in the second direction is away from the central switch.

3. A vehicle electric door lock according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sector gear is further provided along an outer periphery thereof with a fork, and the lock link is further provided along an outer periphery thereof with a projection portion which is shape-fitted to the fork, thereby allowing the pivotal motion of the sector gear to be converted into the pivotal motion of the lock link.

4. A vehicular electric door lock according to claim 3, characterized in that the lock handle and the lock link are arranged at least partially to overlap so that a lock portion projecting outward from the lock handle engages an outer peripheral edge of the lock link.

5. The vehicle electric door lock of claim 4, further comprising a return spring for applying a biasing force to the locking handle to allow the locking handle to be held in the unlocked position.

6. The electric door lock for vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the central control switch is a micro switch disposed in a housing of the electric door lock for vehicle, and the micro switch is communicatively connected to a vehicle body control system by means of an electric wire.

7. The vehicle power door lock of claim 1 further comprising an inner release handle operatively connected to the locking link to drive pivoting thereof toward the disengaged position.

8. The electric door lock for vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electric door lock for vehicle is a side door lock of vehicle.

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