Electric motor vehicle lock with emergency unlocking

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10053892-B2
Application number	US-201414914680-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 14, 2014
Priority date	Aug 30, 2013
Publication date	Aug 21, 2018
Grant date	Aug 21, 2018

Abstract

The object of the invention is to be able, with little expenditure of electrical energy and within a short time, to change over a lock, which can be opened electrically, such that said lock can also be opened mechanically. To achieve this, a locking device with a lock, in particular for a motor vehicle, is provided with a locking mechanism, the rotary latch of which can be latched to at least one pawl in a main latching position and in a preliminary latching position. The locking device has an electric drive with which the lock can be opened electrically in normal operation. It furthermore has an actuating device with which the lock can be changed over from normal operation to emergency operation in the event of an emergency. During this changeover, the lock is adjusted from the main latching position into the preliminary latching position, and the lock can be opened mechanically in said preliminary latching position.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A closure device with a latch in particular for a motor vehicle with a locking mechanism comprising a catch and at least a pawl operable to latch the catch in a pre-ratcheting position and in a main ratcheting position, wherein the latch, when rotated in a closure direction, is initially latched into the pre-ratcheting position and by a further rotation in the closure direction finally latched into the main ratcheting position, with an electrical drive for electrically opening the latch, and an activation device for mechanically opening the latch in the pre-ratcheting position, an actuator that is configured to shift the latch from normal operation to emergency operation in the occurrence of an emergency, wherein the shifting moves the latch from the main ratcheting position into the pre-ratcheting position.

2. The closure device in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the closure device is configured such that the activation device is accessible when the latch is latched in the pre-ratcheting position and the activation device is not accessible when the latch is latched in the main ratcheting position.

3. The closure device in accordance with claim 2 , wherein the closure device is configured such that the activation device is accessible due to a gap or in a gap which arises or increases by moving the latch from the main ratcheting position to the pre-ratcheting position.

4. The closure device in accordance with claim 3 , wherein an activation element of the activation device is moved into the gap as soon as this arises or increases.

5. The closure device in accordance with claim 4 , wherein a lever or a loop of the activation device is moved into the gap as soon as this arises or increases.

6. The closure device in accordance with claim 5 , wherein the latch is configured such that the catch in the main ratcheting position initiates an opening torque into the pawl that the latch comprises a blocking lever which blocks the pawl in the main ratcheting position, which latches the catch, whereby the blocking lever is moved by the electrical drive out of its blocking position in order to shift the latch in an emergency from the main ratcheting position to the pre-ratcheting position.

7. The closure device in accordance with claim 6 , wherein the closure device comprises an anti-theft device, which cannot be activated when the latch is in the pre-ratcheting position, wherein there is a sensor or a microswitch configured to ascertain if the latch is located in its pre-ratcheting position in order to automatically prevent the anti-theft device being activated if the latch is located in the pre-ratcheting position.

8. The closure device in accordance with claim 1 , wherein a control device is configured such that during electrical opening of the latch, the control device prevents the latch from latching in the pre-ratcheting position.

9. The closure device in accordance with claim 8 , wherein the control device configured such that the control device is only capable of preventing latching in the pre-ratcheting position when an electrical power supply is available.

10. A door for a motor vehicle with a closure device in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the door does not possess a pivotable external handle enabling the latch of the closure device to be opened.

11. The door of claim 10 , wherein the door and the closure device are configured such that if the latch is moved from the main ratcheting position into the pre-ratcheting position, a gap occurs or increases between the pertaining door and the adjacent chassis of the motor vehicle, wherein the activation device is accessible due to the gap or in the gap.

12. The closure device in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the closure device is configured such that in normal operation, to enable opening of the locking mechanism, the blocking lever is pivoted out of its blocking position.

13. The closure device in accordance with claim 12 , further comprising a control lever that is configured to limit in its starting position a pivoting movement of the pawl from its latching position.

14. The closure device in accordance with claim 13 , wherein the closure device is configured such that in normal operation, to enable opening of the locking mechanism, the control lever is pivoted out of its starting position.

15. The closure device in accordance with claim 13 , wherein the control device comprises the control lever.

16. The closure device in accordance with claim 14 , wherein the closure device is configured such that in normal operation, the control lever and the blocking lever are moved to enable opening of the locking mechanism, but in an emergency, only the blocking lever is moved out of its blocking position.

17. The closure device in accordance with claim 16 , wherein the control lever has a control contour which is capable of controlling latching in the pre-ratcheting position.

18. The closure device in accordance with claim 17 , wherein the closure device is configured such that in an emergency, when the blocking lever is moved out of its blocking position by the electrical drive, the pawl leaves its latching position and the control contour of the control lever located in the start position controls the movement of the pawl in such a way that that the pawl latches the catch in the pre-ratcheting position when the catch moves from the main ratcheting position in the direction of the opening position.

19. The closure device in accordance with claim 18 , wherein the closure device is configured such that if the latch is opened electrically, the control contour is moved in such a way that the catch is not latched in the pre-ratcheting position by the pawl.

20. The closure device in accordance with claim 18 , wherein the control device comprises the control lever and is configured such that during electrical opening of the latch in normal operation, the control lever is moved out of the start position so that the control device prevents the latch from latching in the pre-ratcheting position by the control contour.

Assignees

• Kiekert Ag

Inventors

• Merget Michael
• Bendel Thorsten

Classifications

• E05B79/10 Primary

  Connections between movable lock parts · CPC title

• E05B77/02 Primary

  for accident situations · CPC title

• E05B77/12

  Automatic locking or unlocking at the moment of collision · CPC title

• E05B85/243

  with a bifurcated bolt · CPC title

• E05B81/90

  Manual override in case of power failure · CPC title