WO2019038233A1

WO2019038233A1 - Multifunctional lock for a motor vehicle hood

Info

Publication number: WO2019038233A1
Application number: PCT/EP2018/072443
Authority: WO
Inventors: Roberto BARTOLA; Vincenzo SCUDERI; Alessandro GIOACCHINI
Original assignee: Cebi Italy S.P.A.
Priority date: 2017-08-24
Filing date: 2018-08-20
Publication date: 2019-02-28

Abstract

A lock (100) for a motor vehicle hood comprises: a catch (2) that fastens a striker (S); a pawl (3) that cooperates with the catch (2) in order to lock it in a first total closing position and in a second partial closing position, a first actuation lever (5) actuated by a first actuator (A1), a second actuation lever (6), a connection lever (7) connected to the first and to the second actuation lever (5, 6) and actuating said pawl (3), actuation means (A2, L1) to actuate said pawl.

Description

DESCRIPTION

MULTIFUNCTIONAL LOCK FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE HOOD.

The present patent application for industrial invention relates to a multifunctional lock for a motor vehicle hood.

Various types of locks for motor vehicle hoods are known on the market. The term "hood" refers to the front hood of the vehicle. Said locks comprise a catch that is engaged in a "U"-shaped striker fixed to the body of the vehicle.

The catch is moved by an actuator by means of levers. A stop lever, which is normally called "pawl", is engaged with the catch in order to lock the catch in closed position.

Such types of locks of the prior art are not versatile because they cannot adjust to different types of electrical or mechanical commands.

It must be considered that according to the legislation in force and to the market requirements, two actions are necessary for the complete opening of the hood: a first partial opening of the lock by means of a command given by the user in the interior of the vehicle, and a second complete opening of the lock by means of another command given by the user in the front part of the vehicle.

Moreover, it must be considered that in the case of electrical cars or cars with the engine in the back, the hood covers a compartment in which a child could enter; in such a case, the legislation requires the presence of a manual actuation lever inside the compartment of the hood in order to open the lock.

The locks of the prior art are not capable of efficiently and efficaciously coordinating the various types of mechanical and/or electronic opening commands given by the user and eventually by the child inside the compartment of the hood. The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art by providing a lock for a vehicle hood that is versatile and capable of adjusting to different types of opening commands.

Another purpose of the present invention is to disclose such a lock for a motor vehicle hood that is reliable, efficient and effective.

These purposes are achieved according to the invention with the characteristics of the independent claim 1 .

Advantageous embodiments of the invention appear from the dependent claims.

Additional features of the invention will appear clearer from the detailed description below, which refers to merely illustrative, not limiting embodiments, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the lock of the invention in its most complete embodiment, which shows various actuation commands of the lock;

Fig. 1 A is a view of the lock of Fig. 1 , without the actuation commands;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of all the lever mechanisms of the lock of Fig. 1 ; Fig. 3 is a plan view of two microswitches that are coupled to the catch and to a first actuation lever, respectively;

Figs. 4 to 15 are plan views that show the operation of the lock according to the invention in its completely electronic version;

Figs. 16 to 19 are plan views that show the operation of the kid hand lever when the engine is stopped;

Figs. 20 to 25 are plan views that show the operation of the kid hand lever when the engine is started.

With reference to the Figures, the lock of the invention is disclosed, which is generally indicated with reference numeral (100).

With reference to Figs. 1 , 1 A and 2, the lock (100) comprises a catch (2) suitable for fastening a striker (S) which generally has a "U"-shape in order to close the lock. The striker (S) is fixed to the body of the vehicle, and the lock (100) is disposed in a box (1 ) fixed to the hood of the vehicle. Obviously, the lock can be fixed to the body of the vehicle and the striker (S) can be integral with the hood. A slot (10) is obtained in the box (1 ) to let the striker (4) pass through. The catch (2) has a plate-shaped body provided with a "U"-shaped slot (20) suitable for fastening the striker (S).

The catch (2) is hinged to the box (1 ) by means of a pivoting pin (21 ). The catch (2) comprises a retention tooth (22) that projects in front of the slot (20).

The catch (2) comprises a first stop surface (23) and a second stop surface (24) that are angularly spaced and in distal position relative to the slot (20).

The catch (2) is stressed by a spring (M1 ) that pushes the catch (2) towards its opening position, in anti-clockwise rotation relative to the figures.

A pawl (3) is hinged to the box (1 ) by means of a pivoting pin (31 ) parallel to the pivoting pin of the catch. The pawl (3) interacts with the catch (2) in order to lock it in two closing positions. The pawl (30) has a retention tooth (30) that faces the catch (2). The pawl (3) has an "L"-shape and comprises a projecting arm (32).

The pawl (3) is stressed by a spring (M2) that pushes the pawl towards its locking position, in clockwise direction.

With reference to Fig. 2, when the catch (2) is in a first total closing position, the retention tooth (30) of the pawl is stopped against the first stop surface (23) of the catch, in such a way as to prevent the catch (2) from opening when in total closing position. On the contrary, when the catch (2) is in a second partial closing position (Fig. 8), wherein the retention tooth (22) of the catch retains the striker (S), the retention tooth (30) of the pawl is stopped against the second stop surface (24) of the catch, in such a way as to prevent the catch (2) from opening when in partial closing position.

The lock (1 00) comprises a safety lever (4) suitable for interacting with the pawl (3) to release the pawl and permit the opening of the catch (2). The safety lever (4) is pivoted to the box by means of a pivoting pin (40) that is parallel to the pivoting pin (31 ) of the pawl. The safety lever (4) has a substantially "L"-shape with a projecting arm (42) suitable for cooperating with the projecting arm (32) of the pawl. A spring (M3) stresses the safety lever (4) towards its closing position, in anticlockwise direction.

A first actuation lever (5) and a second actuation lever (6) are pivoted in the same pivoting pin (40) of the safety lever.

A connection lever (7) connects the first and the second actuation lever

(5, 6). The connection lever (7) is suitable for interacting with the pawl (3) to release the pawl from the closing position.

The connection lever (7) has a substantially "U"-shape and comprises a central rectilinear portion (70) and two ending portions (71 , 72) that are inclined relative to the central portion. The first ending portion (71 ) is hinged to the second actuation lever (6) by means of a pivoting pin (73).

The second ending portion (72) has a stop tooth (75) suitable for being stopped against a pin (36) that projects from the pawl in correspondence of the projecting arm (32) of the pawl, in such a way as to push the pawl and release it when the pawl locks the catch (2) in its first total closing position. Also the second ending portion (72) of the connection lever is suitable for being stopped against the pin (36) of the pawl in order to push the pawl and release it when the pawl locks the catch (2) in its second partial total closing position.

The first actuation lever (5) has a sliding pin (50) that is slidingly mounted in a slot (74) obtained in the central portion of the connection lever.

A stop pin (60) is disposed on the second actuation lever between the pivoting pin (40) of the second actuation lever and the pivoting pin (73) of the connection lever.

The stop pin (60) of the second actuation lever is slidingly mounted in an arched slot (1 1 ) (Fig. 1 A) obtained in the box (1 ).

With reference to Fig. 1 A, the first actuation lever (5) is actuated by means of a first actuator (A1 ) provided with a stem (51 ) that actuates one ending portion (52) of the first actuation lever in distal position relative to the sliding pin (50) of the first actuation lever. The first actuator (A1 ) is a linear actuator and the stem (51 ) moves from an extracted position, pushing the ending portion (52) of the first actuation lever, to a retracted position, pulling the end of the first actuation lever.

The second actuation lever (6) is actuated by means of a second actuator (A2) provided with a piston (61 ) that actuates the stop pin (60) of the second actuation lever. The second actuator (A2) is a linear actuator and the piston (61 ) moves from a retracted position to an extracted position wherein it pushes the stop pin (61 ) of the second actuation lever.

With reference to Fig. 3, the lock (100) comprises:

- a first microswitch (W1 ) fixed to the box and disposed in correspondence of the first actuation lever (5) to detect when the actuation lever (5) is in closed position and to change its status when the actuation lever is in open position ; and

- a second microswitch (W2) fixed to the box and disposed in correspondence of the catch (2) to detect when the catch (2) is in closing position and to change its status when the catch is in opening position.

The two microswitches (W1 , W2) are connected to the second actuator (A2) and control the actuation of the second actuator (A2) when they detect a change of status.

In particular, the microswitches (W1 , W2) are of reed type and the reeds of the microswitches cooperate with the ending portion (52) of the first actuation lever and with the stop tooth (22) of the catch, respectively.

Initially, the two microswitches (W1 , W2) are closed and the piston (61 ) of the second actuator is in retracted position. When the first actuation lever (5) is actuated, the first microswitch (W1 ) opens and the piston (61 ) of the second actuator is brought to the extracted position. When the catch (2) rotates towards the opening position, the second microswitch (W2) opens and the piston (61 ) of the second actuator is brought to the retracted position.

With reference to Fig. 1 , a first button (P1 ) is disposed in the interior of the vehicle and is electrically connected to the first actuator (A1 ) in order to actuate it. The first actuator (A1 ) can be actuated also by the control unit of the vehicle. A second button (P2) is disposed in the front part of the vehicle, in the vehicle body or under the hood, and is electrically connected to the second actuator (A2) in order to actuate it.

A first manual lever (L1 ) is disposed in the interior of the vehicle and is connected to the pawl (3) with a Bowden cable (B1 ) in order to actuate it manually.

A second hand lever (L2) is disposed in the front part of the vehicle, in the vehicle body or under the hood and is connected to the safety lever (4) by means of a Bowden cable (B2) in order to actuate it manually.

If a compartment suitable for containing a child is present under the hood, a kid hand lever (L3) is provided inside the compartment of the hood. The kid hand lever (L3) is connected to the second actuation lever (6) by means of a Bowden cable.

With reference to Fig. 2, the pawl (3) has an ending portion (35) in the proximity of the retention tooth (30), which is suitable for fastening the Bowden cable (B1 ). The safety lever (4) has an ending portion (45) in the proximity of the stop surface (41 ), which is suitable for fastening the Bowden cable (B2). The second actuation lever (6) has an ending portion (65), in distal position relative to the pivoting pin (40), which is suitable for fastening the Bowden cable (B3).

It must be considered that the lock (1 00) shown in Figs. 1 , 1 A, 2 and 3 is the complete embodiment, which provides for electronic operation, mechanical operation, and manual opening from the interior of the hood compartment. However, the lock (1 00) can be without manual opening from the interior of the hood compartment or may operate electronically and manually.

With reference to Figs. 4 to 1 5, the electronic operation of the lock is described. In such a case, the safety lever (4) and the hand levers (L1 , L2) with Bowden cables (B1 , B2) can be omitted.

With reference to Fig. 4, the lock is completely closed, i.e. the striker

(S) is in the slot of the catch (2); the pawl (3) locks the catch (2) in its first total closing position ; the first actuation lever (5) is in closing position. In such a situation, the first microswitch (W1 ) is in closed status and the second microswitch (W2) is in closed status.

The user presses the button (P1 ) in the interior of the vehicle. Consequently, the stem (51 ) of the first actuator (A1 ) moves along the direction of the arrow (F1 ).

With reference to Fig. 5, the stem (51 ) of the first actuator rotates the first actuation lever (5) in the direction of the arrow (F2). The first actuation lever (5) rotates the connection lever (7) in the direction of the arrow (F3). Moreover, the ending portion (52) of the first actuation lever is moved away from the first microswitch (W1 ) and the first microswitch (W1 ) changes its status.

With reference to Fig. 6, the change of status of the first microswitch (W1 ) controls the actuation of the second actuator (A2). So the piston (61 ) of the second actuator is moved in the direction of the arrow (F4) and pushes the stop pin (60) of the second actuation lever.

Fig. 7 shows the movement of the second actuation lever (6) in the direction of the arrow (F4).

With reference to Fig. 8, the second actuation lever (6) rotates around the pivoting pin (40) in the direction of the arrow (F5), so the second end portion (72) of the connection lever is stopped against the pin (36) of the pawl, causing the rotation of the pawl (3) that releases the catch (2) from its first total closing position. Consequently, the catch (2) rotates in the direction of the arrow (F7) because of the action of the spring (M1 ) until the second stop surface (24) of the catch is stopped against the retention tooth (30) of the pawl. In such a situation, the catch is in its second partial closing position, wherein the striker (S) is held by the retention tooth (22) and the hood cannot be opened.

The catch (2) is moved away from the second microswitch (W2), which changes its status.

With reference to Fig. 9, the change of status of the second microswitch (W2) commands the actuation of the second actuator (A2). Therefore, the piston (61 ) of the second actuator is moved in the direction of the arrow (F4), freeing the stop pin (60) of the second actuation lever.

With reference to Fig. 1 0, the second actuation lever (6) rotates in the direction of the arrow (F9), pushed by its spring. So the connection lever (7) translates in the direction of the arrow (F1 0) and the end portion (72) of the connection lever frees the pin (36) of the pawl.

With reference to Fig. 1 1 , the stem (51 ) of the first actuator is moved in the direction of the arrow (F1 1 ) and pushes the ending portion (52) of the first actuation lever (5).

With reference to Fig. 1 2, the first actuation lever (5) rotates in the direction of the arrow (F1 2) around the pivoting pin (40) and pushes the connection lever (7) that rotates around its pivoting pin (73) in the direction of the arrow (F1 3). The ending portion (52) of the first actuation lever touches the first microswitch (W1 ), changing its status. Consequently, the button (P1 ) in the interior of the vehicle is disabled, but the lock is not completely opened.

With reference to Fig. 1 3, to open the hood completely, the user pushes the button (P2) in the front wall of the vehicle to determine the actuation of the second actuator (A2). Therefore, the piston (61 ) of the second actuator is moved in extracted position, in the direction of the arrow (F14), pushing the stop pin (60) of the second actuation lever.

Fig. 14 shows the movement of the second actuation lever (6) in the direction of the arrow (F14).

With reference to Fig. 1 5, the second actuation lever (6) rotates around the pivoting pin (40) in the direction of the arrow (F1 5) and pulls the connection lever (7) along, which translates in the direction of the arrow (F1 6). The stop tooth (75) of the connection lever is stopped against the pin (36) of the pawl and pushes the pawl that rotates around the pivoting pin (31 ) in the direction of the arrow (F1 7). Consequently, the pawl releases the catch (2), which is free to rotate in the direction of the arrow (F1 8) because of the thrust of its spring (M1 ). In view of the above, the retention tooth (22) of the catch frees the striker (S), the lock is completely open, and the hood can be raised. If the compartment of the hood has enough space for a child, the kid hand lever (L3) is inserted in the compartment of the hood and connected to the second actuation lever (6) by means of the Bowden cable (B3).

Figs. 1 6-1 9 describe the operation of the lock with kid hand lever (L3) when the engine of the vehicle is off.

With reference to Fig. 1 6, when the vehicle is stopped and the engine is off, the first actuator (A1 ) is actuated and the stem (51 ) of the first actuator is moved to its extracted position in the direction of the arrow (F1 ), pushing the ending portion (52) of the first actuation lever.

With reference to Fig. 1 7, the first actuation lever (5) rotates in the direction of the arrow (F2) and pulls the connection lever (7) along, which rotates in the direction of the arrow (F3). The tooth (75) of the connection lever engages the pin (36) of the pawl. The ending portion (52) of the first actuation lever touches the first microswitch (W1 ), which changes its status.

With reference to Fig. 1 8, the child actuates the kid hand lever (L3) in the hood compartment; therefore the Bowden cable (B3) is pulled in the direction of the arrow (F4), pulling the second actuation lever (6) along.

With reference to Fig. 1 9, the second actuation lever (6) rotates around the pivoting pin (40) in the direction of the arrow (F5) and pulls the connection lever (7) along, which translates in the direction of the arrow (F6). Consequently, the tooth (75) of the connection lever pushes the pin (36) of the pawl and the pawl rotates around its pivoting pin (31 ) in the direction of the arrow (F7), releasing the catch (2) completely.

Therefore, the catch (2) is free to rotate in the direction of the arrow (F8) because of the thrust of its spring (M1 ), in such a way as to release the striker (S) completely to open the hood. The catch (2) is moved away from the second microswitch (W2), which changes its status.

Figs. 20-25 describe the operation of the lock with kid hand lever (L3) when the engine is running and the vehicle is moving.

As shown in Fig. 20, when the vehicle is moving, the first actuator (A1 ) is actuated and the stem (51 ) of the first actuator is moved to its retracted position in the direction of the arrow (F1 ), pulling the ending portion (52) of the first actuation lever.

With reference to Fig. 21 , the first actuation lever (5) rotates in the direction of the arrow (F2) and rotates the connection lever (7) in the direction of the arrow (F3). The tooth (75) of the connection lever releases the pin (36) of the pawl. The ending portion (52) of the first actuation lever is moved away from the first microswitch (W1 ), which changes its status.

With reference to Fig. 22, the child actuates the kid hand lever (L3) in the hood compartment; therefore the Bowden cable (B3) is pulled in the direction of the arrow (F4), pulling the second actuation lever (6).

With reference to Fig. 23, the second actuation lever (6) rotates around the pivoting pin (40) in the direction of the arrow (F5) and pulls the connection lever (7) along, which translates in the direction of the arrow (F6). Consequently, the second ending portion (72) of the connection lever pushes the pin (36) of the pawl and the pawl rotates around its pivoting pin (31 ) in the direction of the arrow (F7), partially releasing the catch (2). Otherwise said, the catch rotates in the direction of the arrow (F8) until the retention tooth (30) of the pawl is stopped against the second stop surface (24) of the catch, locking the catch in a partially open position, wherein the retention tooth (22) of the catch retains the striker (S).

In such a situation, while the vehicle is moving, the lock is partially open and the hood cannot be raised because the retention tooth (22) of the catch retains the striker (S).

With reference to Fig. 24, when the vehicle stops and the engine is turned off, the first actuator (A1 ) pushes the end (52) of the first actuation lever (5) in the direction of the arrow (F9). The ending portion (52) of the first actuation lever touches the first microswitch (W1 ), which changes its status.

Now, the lock can be completely opened in two ways: - by means of the button (P2) in the front part of the vehicle, which actuates the second actuator (A2), which pushes the pin (60) of the second actuation lever in the direction of the arrow (F10);

or

- by means of the kid hand lever (L3), which pulls the Bowden cable

(B3) in the direction of the arrow (F1 1 ), also pulling the second actuation lever (6).

With reference to Fig. 25, in any case, the second actuation lever (6) rotates around the pivoting pin (40) in the direction of the arrow (F12) and pulls the connection lever (7) along, which translates in the direction of the arrow (F13). Consequently, the tooth (75) of the connection lever pushes the pin (36) of the pawl and the pawl rotates around its pivoting pin (31 ) in the direction of the arrow (F14), releasing the catch (2) completely.

Therefore, the catch (2) is free to rotate in the direction of the arrow (F15) because of the thrust of its spring (M1 ), in such a way as to release the striker (S) completely to open the hood.

According to a mechanical and electronic embodiment, the second actuator (A2) is replaced by the first actuation lever (L1 ) connected to the pawl (3). In fact, the function of both the second actuator (A2) and the first actuation lever (L1 ) is to actuate the pawl (3) and they can be considered as actuation means of the pawl. In such a case, by eliminating the second actuator (A2), also the microswitches (W1 , W2) can be eliminated.

Numerous equivalent variations and modifications can be made to the present embodiments of the invention, which are within the reach of an expert of the field, falling in any case within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1 . Lock (100) for motor vehicle hood comprising:

- a catch (2) hinged to a box (1 ) of the lock around a pivoting pin (21 ), said catch (2) comprising a slot (20) intended to hook a striker (S) fixed to the body of the vehicle, a retention tooth (22) disposed in front of the slot (20), a first and a second stop surface (23, 24) that are angularly spaced and in distal position relative to the slot,

- a pawl (3) hinged to the box (1 ) of the lock around a pivoting axis (31 ) and provided with a retention tooth (30) intended to stop against the first stop surface (23) of the catch (2) to lock the catch in a first total closing position, wherein the striker is in the slot of the catch, and against the second stop surface (24) of the catch (2) to lock the catch in a second partial closing position, wherein the retention tooth (22) retains the catch,

- a first actuation lever (5) hinged to the box by means of a pivoting pin

(40),

- a second actuation lever (6) hinged in said pivoting pin (40) of the first actuation lever,

- a connection lever (7) hinged to the second actuation lever (6) in a pivoting pin (73) and connected to the first actuation lever (5) and to the second actuation lever; said connection lever (7) actuating said pawl (3) to release it from the first total locking position and from the second partial locking position,

- actuation means (A2, L1 ) suitable for operating said pawl (3), and

- a first actuator (A1 ) that actuates said first actuation lever (5).

2. The lock (100) of claim 1 , wherein said first actuation lever (5) comprises a sliding pin (50) that slides in a slot (74) of the connection lever

(7).

3. The lock (100) of claim 1 or 2, wherein said connection lever (7) comprises a retention tooth (75) intended to stop against a pin (36) of said pawl to release the pawl when the catch is in the first total closing position and a projecting portion (72) intended to stop against said pin (36) of the pawl to release the pawl when the catch is in the second partial closing position.

4. The lock (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein said actuation means comprise a second actuator (A2) that actuates said second actuation lever (6).

5. The lock (100) of claim 4, wherein said second actuator (A2) comprises a piston (61 ) that actuates a stop pin (60) provided in said second actuation lever (6).

6. The lock (100) of claim 4 or 5, comprising:

- a first microswitch (W1 ) coupled with the first actuation lever (5) and electrically connected to said second actuator (A2) in order to actuate it when said first actuation lever changes its status, and

- a second microswitch (W2) coupled with the catch (2) and electrically connected to said second actuator (A2) in order to actuate it when said catch changes its status.

7. The lock (100) of any one of claims 4 to 6, comprising:

- a first button (P1 ) disposed in an interior of the vehicle and electrically connected to the first actuator (A1 ) in order to actuate it; and

- a second button (P2) disposed in a front part of the vehicle and electrically connected to the second actuator (A2) in order to actuate it.

8. The lock (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein said first actuator (A1 ) comprises a stem (51 ) that actuates an ending portion (52) of said first actuation lever (5).

9. The lock (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein said actuation means comprise a first hand lever (L1 ) disposed in the interior of the vehicle and connected to said pawl (3) by means of a Bowden cable (B1 ).

10. The lock (100) of any one of the preceding claims, comprising a kid hand lever (L3) disposed in a compartment under the hood and connected to said second actuation lever (6) by means of a Bowden cable (B3).

1 1 . The lock (100) of any one of the preceding claims, comprising: - a safety lever (4) hinged to the box by means of a pivoting pin (40) and provided with a projecting arm (42) that cooperates with a projecting arm (32) of said pawl (3) to release the pawl from the locking position wherein it locks the catch (2), and

- a second hand lever (L2) disposed in the front part of the vehicle and connected to said safety lever (4) by means of a Bowden cable (B2).