Motor vehicle lock

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9376842-B2
Application number	US-201313929265-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 27, 2013
Priority date	Mar 25, 2013
Publication date	Jun 28, 2016
Grant date	Jun 28, 2016

Abstract

The invention is directed to a lock for a door arrangement, wherein a catch and a pawl are provided. The catch can be in an open or closed position. The catch may be brought into holding engagement. The pawl may be brought into an engagement position. The pawl may be deflected into a release position. A pawl actuation lever is provided for deflecting the pawl. A switchable coupling arrangement comprises a first coupling lever, a second coupling lever and a spring biased coupling element. A control spring arrangement is provided that is engageable with the coupling element, which control spring arrangement acts against the spring bias of the coupling element, and that the pawl actuation lever is coupled to the control spring arrangement such that a predefined movement of the pawl actuation lever changes or eliminates the resulting force acting from the control spring arrangement onto the coupling element.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A motor vehicle lock for a motor vehicle door arrangement, comprising:
a catch,
a pawl, which is assigned to the catch,
a pawl actuation lever,
a switchable coupling arrangement, and
a control spring arrangement,
wherein the catch can be brought into an open position and into a closed position,
wherein the catch, when in the closed position, is or may be brought into holding engagement with a lock striker,
wherein the pawl may be brought into an engagement position, in which it is in blocking engagement with the catch,
wherein the pawl is deflectable into a release position, in which it releases the catch,
wherein the pawl actuation lever is provided for deflecting the pawl into the release position,
wherein the switchable coupling arrangement comprises the pawl actuation lever, the pawl and a moveable, spring biased coupling element that is configured to be moved into a closing position for a coupling engagement with the pawl actuation lever and the pawl and into an opening position for decoupling the pawl actuation lever from the pawl,

wherein
the control spring arrangement is engaged or is engageable with the switchable coupling element, wherein the control spring arrangement with its spring bias acts against the spring bias of the coupling element, and wherein the pawl actuation lever is directly or indirectly coupled to the control spring arrangement such that a predefined movement of the pawl actuation lever changes or eliminates the resulting force acting from the control spring arrangement onto the coupling element.

2. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 , wherein the coupling element is designed as a resiliently elastically bendable wire or strip and can thereby be bent in a resiliently elastic manner into the closing position and into the opening position.

3. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 , wherein the spring bias of the coupling element goes back mainly on its own elasticity.

4. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 , wherein the control spring arrangement is designed as a resiliently elastically bendable wire or strip.

5. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 , wherein the coupling element is spring biased into the closing position.

6. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 , wherein with the pawl actuation lever in its non-actuated state the spring bias of the control spring arrangement holds the coupling element against its spring bias in its opening position, without being supported by the pawl actuation lever.

7. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 , wherein deflecting the pawl actuation lever from its non-actuated state into its actuated state causes the control spring arrangement to act on the coupling element releasing the coupling element into the closing position.

8. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 , wherein releasing the pawl actuation lever from its actuated state into its non-actuated state causes the control spring arrangement to act on the coupling element deflecting the coupling element against its spring bias to the opening position.

9. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 , wherein during deflection of the pawl actuation lever from its non-actuated state into its actuated state the pawl actuation lever deflects the control spring arrangement against its spring bias.

10. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 , wherein during release of the pawl actuation lever from its actuated state into its non-actuated state the pawl actuation lever releases the control spring arrangement following its spring bias.

11. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 , wherein the control spring arrangement is mounted separately from the pawl actuation lever.

12. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 , wherein the actuation of the pawl actuation lever comprises a release section of movement of the pawl actuation lever, during which the coupling element is being released to move into its closing position, and a subsequent pawl deflecting section of movement of the pawl actuation lever, during which the pawl is being deflected into its released position if the coupling element has reached its closing position during the release section of movement.

13. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 , wherein deflecting the pawl actuation lever from its non-actuated state into its actuated state with a rapidity that is above a threshold rapidity and induced by a crash, the pawl actuation lever runs free due to the mass inertia based delay in closing of the switchable coupling arrangement.

14. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 10 , wherein the mass inertia based delay in closing of the switchable coupling arrangement during actuation of the pawl actuation lever goes back mainly on the weight distribution of the coupling element.

15. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 , wherein the coupling element carries a weight arrangement in order to define the mass inertia based delay in closing of the switchable coupling arrangement.

16. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 , wherein the control spring arrangement comprises an engagement section and that the pawl actuation lever comprises a counter engagement section and that the control spring arrangement with its engagement section is engaged or engageable with the counter engagement section of the pawl actuation lever.

17. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 13 , wherein the engagement section of the control spring arrangement is designed as a bow like section and that during deflection of the pawl actuation lever from its non-actuated state into its actuated state the counter engagement section of the pawl actuation lever slides along the bow like engagement section of the control spring arrangement deflecting the control spring arrangement against its spring bias.

18. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 , wherein a lock mechanism is provided, which may be brought into different functional states such as “unlocked” and “locked” via a lock actuation arrangement and that the lock mechanism acts on the switchable coupling arrangement for realizing the functional states “unlocked” and “locked” such that in the functional state “unlocked” the switchable coupling arrangement closes and in the functional state “locked” opens.

19. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 , wherein with the pawl actuation lever in its non-actuated state the spring bias of the control spring arrangement holds the coupling element against its spring bias in its opening position without being supported by the pawl actuation lever.

20. The motor vehicle lock according to claim 1 , wherein the pawl comprises a first section connected to a second section.

Assignees

• Brose Schliesssysteme Gmbh

Inventors

• Wittelsbuerger Michael
• Rosales David

Classifications

• E05B77/06 Primary

  by means of inertial forces · CPC title

• Y10T292/0932

  Lever · CPC title

• E05B77/02

  for accident situations · CPC title

• E05B2015/041

  loaded perpendicular to cylinder axis · CPC title

• E05B77/04

  Preventing unwanted lock actuation, e.g. unlatching, at the moment of collision · CPC title