Motor vehicle lock

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12359474-B2
Application number	US-202117480983-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 21, 2021
Priority date	Sep 22, 2020
Publication date	Jul 15, 2025
Grant date	Jul 15, 2025

Abstract

A motor vehicle lock includes a lock latch, at least one pawl, an electric drive arrangement, and a drive controller. The drive controller controls the drive arrangement to carry out an opening movement that adjusts an adjusting arrangement of the lock from a starting position to a raising position of the adjusting arrangement, in which the adjusting arrangement raises the pawl. A clutch arrangement is arranged between an actuating lever and the pawl, wherein, in an intermediate position, the adjusting arrangement shifts, in the opening movement, the clutch arrangement out of the disengaging state into the engaging state, before the adjusting arrangement raises the pawl when the raising position is reached. In an unlocking routine, the controller controls the drive arrangement to start the opening movement, and, responsive to an intermediate position criterion representative being met, modifies the control such that the adjusting arrangement does not reach the raising position.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A motor vehicle lock comprising:
a lock latch pivotable about a geometric lock-latch axis and having at least one pawl that is pivotable about a geometric pawl axis, wherein the lock latch is adjustable into an open position and into at least one locked position, wherein the pawl is adjustable into a lowered position, in which it holds the lock latch in the at least one locked position, and into a raised position, in which it releases the lock latch; and
an electric drive arrangement and a drive controller, wherein the drive controller controls the drive arrangement to carry out an opening movement in which the drive arrangement adjusts an adjusting arrangement of the motor vehicle lock starting from a starting position to a raising position of the adjusting arrangement, in which the adjusting arrangement raises the pawl, wherein the motor vehicle lock has an actuating lever that is pivotable about a geometric actuating-lever axis, wherein a clutch arrangement is arranged between the actuating lever and the pawl, the clutch arrangement being shiftable between an engaging state and a disengaging state, wherein, in the disengaging state, an actuating stroke of the actuating lever is an idle stroke with regard to raising of the pawl, and wherein, in the engaging state, the pawl is raisable via the actuating stroke of the actuating lever, wherein, in an intermediate position provided between the starting position and the raising position, the adjusting arrangement, in the opening movement, shifts the clutch arrangement out of the disengaging state and into the engaging state before the adjusting arrangement raises the pawl when the raising position is reached, wherein
in an unlocking routine, the drive controller controls the drive arrangement to start the opening movement, and the drive controller, upon fulfilling an intermediate position criterion representative for reaching the intermediate position, modifies the control such that the adjusting arrangement does not reach the raising position;
wherein the drive controller, upon fulfilling the intermediate position criterion, modifies the control such that the opening movement ends before the adjusting arrangement reaches the raising position.

2. The motor vehicle lock of claim 1 , wherein the drive controller, in the unlocking routine, controls the drive arrangement with a drive power that is reduced compared with a predefined drive power provided normally during operation for the opening movement.

3. The motor vehicle lock of claim 1 , wherein the drive controller, in the unlocking routine, monitors an electric drive value of the drive arrangement, and wherein the intermediate position criterion relates to the drive value.

4. The motor vehicle lock of claim 1 , wherein the drive controller, in the unlocking routine, monitors sensor values of a position sensor of the adjusting arrangement, and the intermediate position criterion relates to the sensor values.

5. The motor vehicle lock of claim 4 , wherein the position sensor has an electric switch configured to be actuated by the adjusting arrangement upon reaching the intermediate position, and wherein the intermediate position criterion is defined at least partially by the actuation of the switch.

6. The motor vehicle lock of claim 5 , wherein the position sensor includes an incremental position sensor associated with the drive arrangement, and wherein the intermediate position criterion is defined at least partially in that the sensor values of the incremental position sensor exceed a predefined minimum value.

7. The motor vehicle lock of claim 1 further comprising a locking arrangement having a locking lever that is pivotable about a geometric locking-lever axis between a locking position and an unlocking position, wherein the locking lever, in the unlocking position, shifts the clutch arrangement into the engaging state, and wherein the adjusting arrangement, upon reaching the intermediate position, shifts the clutch arrangement into the unlocking position via adjustment of the locking lever.

8. The motor vehicle lock of claim 7 , wherein the locking lever is spring-preloaded in a direction of the unlocking position, and wherein the adjusting arrangement, in the starting position, holds the locking lever in the locking position.

9. The motor vehicle lock of claim 1 , wherein the adjusting arrangement has an adjusting lever that is pivotable about a geometric adjusting-lever axis and a worm wheel that is rotatable about an axis of rotation and, the worm wheel, in a rotary movement, pivots the adjusting lever by way of a guide contour upon reaching the raising position in order to raise the pawl, and wherein the worm wheel has a driver for the locking lever that shifts the locking lever, upon reaching the intermediate position, into the unlocking position.

10. The motor vehicle lock of claim 1 , wherein the clutch arrangement has a clutch lever that is pivotable about a geometric clutch-lever axis, wherein the clutch lever, in the disengaging state of the clutch arrangement, is in a disengaging position in which the clutch lever is out of coupling engagement with the actuating lever during an actuating stroke of the actuating lever, and wherein the clutch lever, in the engaging state of the clutch arrangement, is in an engaging position in which the clutch lever is in coupling engagement with the actuating lever or comes into coupling engagement with the actuating lever during an actuating stroke of the actuating lever.

11. The motor vehicle lock of claim 1 , wherein the adjusting arrangement raises the pawl, upon reaching the raising position, by means of a release lever that is pivotable about a geometric release-lever axis and is arranged between the adjusting arrangement and pawl.

12. The motor vehicle lock of claim 11 , wherein the clutch lever is arranged on the release lever so as to be pivotable about the clutch-lever axis.

13. The motor vehicle lock of claim 1 , further comprising a second actuating lever that is pivotable about a geometric actuating-lever axis, wherein the pawl is raisable by an actuating stroke of the second actuating lever.

14. The motor vehicle lock of claim 13 , wherein the second actuating lever raises the pawl by an actuating stroke of a release lever.

15. The motor vehicle lock of claim 1 , wherein the at least one locked position includes a main locked position and a pre-locked position between the open position and the main locked position.

16. The motor vehicle lock of claim 1 , wherein the actuating lever is an external actuating lever.

17. The motor vehicle lock of claim 1 , wherein the drive controller, in the unlocking routine, monitors an electric drive value of a drive current and/or a drive voltage of the drive arrangement, and wherein the intermediate position criterion relates to the drive value, and wherein the intermediate position criterion is defined at least partially in that a number of current ripples of the drive current that are passed through in the opening movement exceeds a predefined minimum number.

18. A motor vehicle lock comprising:
a lock latch pivotable about a geometric lock-latch axis and movable between an open position and a locked position;
a pawl pivotable about a geometric pawl axis and movable between a lowered position in which the lock latch is held locked and a raised position in which the lock latch is released;
an adjusting arrangement configured to move the pawl between the lowered and raised position;
an electric drive arrangement configured to adjust the adjustm

Assignees

• Brose Schliesssysteme Gmbh & Co Kg Wuppertal
• Brose Schliesssysteme Gmbh

Inventors

• Graute Ludger
• Zillert Markus
• Gülkan Serkan
• Hoffmann Andreas

Classifications

• E05B81/20

  for assisting final closing or for initiating opening · CPC title

• E05B81/46

  Clutches · CPC title

• E05B81/34

  of geared transmissions · CPC title

• E05B81/42

  Cams · CPC title

• E05B81/14 Primary

  operating on bolt detents, e.g. for unlatching the bolt · CPC title