Electronic vehicle handle assembly including a mechanical switch

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12534940-B2
Application number	US-202218259651-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 6, 2022
Priority date	Jan 6, 2021
Publication date	Jan 27, 2026
Grant date	Jan 27, 2026

Abstract

A vehicle door handle assembly includes a housing that sits flush against an outer panel of the vehicle, a rotatable flap housed within the housing, the flap extending along and configured to rotate about a rotation axis between a rest position and a door opening position, a mechanical actuation switch generating an electrical signal to be sent to a vehicle door controller to release the vehicle door. The door assembly includes a cam holder and a cam supported by the cam holder. The cam holder being connected to the flap such that the cam holder is rotatable about the rotation axis and that rotation of the flap causes rotation of the cam holder, rotation of the cam holder causing the cam to activate the switch.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A vehicle door handle assembly comprising:
a housing that sits flush against an outer panel of the vehicle, a rotatable flap housed within said housing, said flap extending along and configured to rotate about a rotation axis between a rest position and a door opening position, a mechanical actuation switch generating an electrical signal to be sent to a vehicle door controller to release the vehicle door, wherein the vehicle door handle further comprises a cam holder and a cam supported by the cam holder, said cam holder being connected to the flap such that the cam holder is rotatable about the rotation axis and that rotation of the flap causes rotation of the cam holder, rotation of the cam holder causing the cam to activate said mechanical actuation switch, wherein the cam holder comprises a cam lever extending along a longitudinal direction, said cam lever comprising a first end hinged on the rotation axis of the flap and a second end, opposite to the first, supporting the cam, wherein the rotatable flap is substantially planar and is delimited by two parallel rectilinear longitudinal sides extending along the rotation axis and by two parallel rectilinear lateral sides extending along a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis, and wherein the axis about which the cam holder is rotatable is a pin stemming from the first end of the cam lever configured to be inserted into a hole opened in the flap along the rotation axis, such that the cam lever is substantially parallel to and bordering one of the two parallel rectilinear lateral sides of the flap.

2 . The vehicle door handle assembly according to claim 1 , wherein rotation of the cam holder induces a movement of the cam which follows the movement of a longitudinal side of the flap.

3 . The vehicle door handle assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the cam lever is substantially parallel to a lateral side of the flap and is located adjacent to said lateral side of the flap.

4 . The vehicle door handle assembly according to claim 3 , wherein the length of the cam lever is at least the same as the length of a lateral side of the flap.

5 . The vehicle door handle assembly according to claim 1 , wherein a second pin inserted in a hole of the cam lever located next to the second end of the cam lever is also inserted in a second hole of the flap, located opposite the first hole along the lateral side of the flap.

6 . The vehicle door handle assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the mechanical actuation switch comprises a flexible blade and wherein during rotation of the cam holder, a contact surface of the cam comes into contact with and pushes the blade in at least one direction that is transverse to the rotation axis.

7 . The vehicle door handle assembly according to claim 6 , wherein, the blade is oriented sensibly perpendicularly to the rotation axis of the flap.

8 . The vehicle door handle assembly according to claim 6 , wherein the mechanical actuation switch comprises a push button and wherein during rotation of the cam holder, the blade comes into contact with and pushes the push button, said pushing of the push button generating an electrical signal to be sent to the vehicle door controller to release the vehicle door.

9 . The vehicle door handle assembly according to claim 1 , wherein a contact surface of the cam is formed of a slope joining two substantially rectilinear surfaces.

10 . The vehicle door handle assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises a bowl-shaped reception surface, delimiting a volume giving access to the rotatable flap.

11 . The vehicle door handle assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the rotatable flap in the rest position and the rotatable flap in the door opening position form an angle comprised between 2 degrees and 6 degrees.

12 . The vehicle door handle assembly according to claim 1 , wherein a distance between the rotatable flap in rest position and the rotatable flap in door opening position is less than 6 mm.

13 . The vehicle door handle assembly according to claim 1 , further comprising a back-up release mechanism comprising a cable connected to a door latch mechanism, causing mechanical actuation of the door latch mechanism to release the vehicle door, said back-up release mechanism being configured to be actuated by a key inserted in a keyhole located inside a reception surface.

14 . The vehicle door handle assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the rotatable flap comprises a section made of elastomer, overmolded on a section made of hard plastic.

15 . The vehicle door handle assembly according to claim 1 , wherein a distance between the rotatable flap in rest position and the rotatable flap in door opening position is less than 4 mm.

16 . The vehicle door handle assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the rotatable flap comprises a section made of rubber, overmolded on a section made of polypropylene.

17 . The vehicle door handle assembly according to claim 1 , wherein a length of the cam lever in the longitudinal direction that extends parallel to the lateral side of the flap is at least a same length as the lateral side of the flap.

Assignees

• U Shin Italia Spa

Inventors

• Peynot Thomas
• Guerin Anthony
• Citron Frédéric
• Gajoni Alessio

Classifications

• E05B85/18

  a longitudinal grip part being pivoted about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the grip part · CPC title

• E05B81/90

  Manual override in case of power failure · CPC title

• E05B81/42

  Cams · CPC title

• E05B81/76 Primary

  Detection of handle operation; Detection of a user approaching a handle; Electrical switching actions performed by door handles · CPC title