POWER STRIKER MECHANISM WITH BACKDRIVE PREVENTION

Abstract: A power striker mechanism (10) has a housing (22). A striker (18) is mounted on a striker plate (20) that is mounted on the housing for sliding movement between an inboard and an outboard position. A driver plate (44) is mounted to the housing for sliding movement in a direction orthogonal to the movement of the striker plate (20). An actuator (16) effects movement of the driver plate (44) to thereby effect movement of the striker plate (20) between the inboard and outboard positions. The striker plate (20) has a pin (36) and the driver plate has an S-shaped slot (42). The pin slidably engages the S-shaped slot. The S-shaped slot has end regions extending generally parallel to each other and in the orthogonal direction and is interconnected by a diagonally extending section. When the pin (36) is in the end regions of the S-shaped slot, forces imparted on the striker plate (20) are transmitted to the housing (22) and thereby preventing backlash of the actuator (16). When the pin (36) is in the diagonally extending section, movement of the drive plate (44) effects movement of the striker plate (20).

Description: POWER STRIKER MECHANISM WITH BACKDRIVE PREVENTION Field of Invention The subject invention relates to a power stπker mechanism for use with a closure panel of a motor vehicle. Background of the Invention A vehicle closure panel, such as a door, hood or deck, typically includes a seal to pre\ ent exterior environmental elements from intruding into a passengei compartment The seal also reduces the amount of exterior noise transmitted into the passenger compartment Seals w ith higher stiffness coefficients and greater seal pressures aie being used to accommodate consumer demand for a quieter passenger compartment In other words, new seals are becoming much stiffer than those traditionally used As appreciated, a stiffer seal translates into an increase m force required to completely close the closure panel One solution to this problem is the use of a power striker, including the power strikers disclosed in United States patent nos 5,172,947; 4,739,585, 4,982,984, 5,716,085; 5,755,468; 4,842,313, 4,775, 178, 4,707,007, 5,765,886, and 5,066,056 During operation of these typical devices, the closure panel is moved to an initial closed position such that the latch engages the striker The striker is then moved inboard by a power actuator to cinch the closuie panel to a final closed position compressing the seals One shortcoming of such a mechanism is the vulneiabilitv to damage of the power striker by excessive slamming of the closure panel, typically a door A slammed door causes damage because the striker is driven inboard of the vehicle and lnertial forces of the door are subsequently transmitted through the striker to the power actuator Repair and replacement of pow er actuator is complicated by the confined mounting locations required of such mechanisms It is thus desirable to develop a powered striker mechanism that is not susceptible to damage by a slamming vehicle closure panel Summary of Invention The disadvantages of the prior art may be ov ercome by providing a power striker that isolates the actuator from slamming loads imparted to the stπker assembly According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a power stπker mechanism having a housing A stπker is mounted on a stπker plate that is mounted on the housing for s dable movement between an inboard and an outboard position A driver plate is mounted to the housing for shdable movement is a direction orthogonal to the striker plate An actuator effects movement of the dπver plate to thereby effect movement of the striker plate between the inboard and outboard positions The stπker plate has a pm and the diner plate has an S-shaped slot defining a camming relation The pm shdably engages the S-shaped slot The S- shaped slot has end regions extending m the orthogonal direction and is interconnected by a diagonally extending section When the pin is m the end regions of the S-shaped slot, forces imparted on the striker plate are transmitted to the housing and theieby preventing backlash of the actuator When the pm is in the diagonally extending section, movement of the driver plate effects movement of the striker plate According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a power stπker mechanism The striker plate and the driver plate are connected together in a camming relation having end phases corresponding to inboard and outboard positions of the striker plate In the end phases, coπespondmg to the inboard and outboard positions, the striker plate and the driver plate are coupled to the housing of the mechanism In an intermediate phase intermediate the end phases, the striker plate and the driver plate are uncoupled from the housing enabling the relative sliding movement of the striker plate and the drn e plate Brief Description of the Drawings Advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherem Figure 1 is an exploded view of a powered striker mechanism of the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspecti e view of the assembled powered striker mechanism of Figure 1 , Figure 3 is a perspective view, partially in section, of the striker assembly of Figure 1, and Figure 4 is a perspective view , partially m section, of a dπver assembly for the powered stπker mechanism of Figure 1 Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment Referring to the Figures wherem like numerals indicate like or corresponding pans throughout the several views, a power closure panel striker mechanism is generally shown at 10 in Figures 1 and 2 The power striker mechanism 10 comprises a stπkei assembly 12, a driver assemblv 14 and an actuator 16 Referring to Figures 1 and 3. the striker assembly 12 includes a striker plate 20 The striker plate 20 has three aligned holes, with a center hole sized for mounting a drn er pin 36 A striker 18, which is L-shaped with outboard 17 and inboard 19 legs, is fixedly attached in the outermost holes of the striker plate 20 The stπker plate 20 is slidingly disposed within a cavity 24 of a striker housing cover 22 The stπker correspondingly 18 extends through a rectangular opening 25 in the striker housing cover 22 The stπker housing cover 22 fits within a peπpheral πm 26 of a backplate 28 The striker housing cover 22 has tw o counteisunk mounting holes 30 through which two mounting screws (not shown) are inserted to secure the striker assembly 12 to the vehicle The backplate 28 secures the striker housing cover 22 at a top and bottom portion by a lip 32 folded over the stπker housing cover 22 The pm dm er 36 extends through a slot 38 m the backplate 28 Further, the backplate 28 cooperates w ith the striker housing plate 22 to define a first cavity therebetw een Preferably, striker housing cover 22 has a transverse embossment which receives and secures stπker bushings 34 above and below the striker plate 20 within the striker housing co er 22 defining a first channel The striker bushings 34 are held firmly between the stπker housing cover 22 and the backplate 28 The stπker bushings 34 allow an inboard and outboard sliding movement of the striker plate 20 in the direction of arrows A, B As appreciated, the driver pm 36 and stπker 18 are also limited to horizontal movement along with the stπker plate 20 The dπver pm 36 fits within a roller 40 disposed within the dπver assembly 14, which is also shown in Figure 4 The roller 40 follows within a cam slot 42 of a dπver plate 44 in a camming relation The dπver plate 44 is rectangular having the cam slot 42 and a set or seπes of gear teeth 46 The cam slot 42 has an S-shaped profile defined by three phases The end phases compπse outboard 41 and inboard 43 ends and an intermediate phase comprising a diagonal connection therebetween Outboard end 41 and inboard end 43 extend parallel to each other and generally orthogonal to the inboard outboard movement of the striker plate 20 A. driver housing plate 48 has rectangular aperture 49 which enables the operative engagement between the actuator 16 and the drive plate 42 Preferably, driver housing plate 48 has a rectangular embossment The cover 50 includes upper and lower tabs 54 that are folded over the dπver housing plate 48 to secure the dπver assembly 14 and define a second cavity therebetween The cover 50 has an aperture 51 through which the pin 36 extends A pair of driver bushings 56 are mounted within the second cavity to define a second channel The dπver plate 44 slides within the second channel defined by the dπver bushings 56 in a direction perpendicular to the inboard outboard movement of the striker plate 20 The gear teeth 46 of the driver plate 44 engage a sector gear 58 The sector gear 58 is mounted to the support bracket 66 and has a first set of gear teeth 60 that engages the driver plate 44 and a second set of gear teeth 62 that engages a pinion 64 of the actuator 16 Referring to Figure 2, the actuator 16 is mounted to an internal support within the vehicle A support bracket 66 is a rectangular plate having an opening for the dπve gear 64 and is secured to the actuator 16 to provide a mounting location for the sector gear 58 The sector gear 58 is pivotally attached to the support bracket 66 The sector gear 58 transmits rotary motion of the dπve gear 64 to the dπver plate 44 and acts as a lever arm to multiply torque provided by the motor 16 The position of the striker 18 may be adjusted laterally while maintaining engagement of the driver plate 44 to the sector gear 58 due to extra width provided in the driver gear teeth 46 The subject power striker mechanism 10 is configured to prevent transmission of impact forces on the stπker 18, by a slammed closure panel, back through the driver assembly 14 and to the gear motor 16 An impact force imparted on the stπker 18 will be in an inboard outboard direction The operation of the power stπker mechanism 10 begins once the vehicle closure panel is moved to an initial closed position and the latch on the vehicle closure panel, typically a door, hood or deck, has latched onto the striker 18 The actuator 16 is energized to rotate the drn e gear 64 that in turn rotates the sector gear 58 The rotation of the sector gear 58 forces the driver plate 44 to slide The driver plate 44 engages the roller 40, responsively mo\ es the roller 40 along the outboard end 41 and then diagonally towards the inboard end 43 and then along the inboard end 43 The drive pm 36, which engages the roller, responsively transmits the inboard mov ement to the stπker plate 20 and striker 18, causing the striker 18 to move inboard (Arrow A) and pull the vehicle closure panel to a final closed position When the closure panel is opened, the process is reversed to move the striker 18 back to the initial closure panel closed or outboard position (Arrow B) When a closure panel is slammed shut or other external force applied, such as a collision, a force is exerted on the striker 18 in an inboard direction (Arrow A) As appreciated the force is transmitted from the striker 18 through the striker plate 20 and thereby to the driv er pin 36 The driv er pm 36 then impacts a side of the cam slot 42 of the driver plate 44 When the driver plate 44 is at either end of travel, pm 36 will be positioned at either the outboard end 41 oi the inboard end 43 The outboaid end 41 and the inboard end 43 both extend transversely to the direction of movement of the striker plate 20 Thus, when pm 36 is in either of the inboard end 43 or the outboard end 41 , the striker plate 20 and the driver plate 44 are coupled to the housing Intermediate of the inboard end 43 and the outboard end 41, the driver plate 44 and the striker plate are uncoupled from the housing enabling the sliding movement of both and thereby effect the inboard and outboard movement of the striker plate 20 Therefor, forces applied to the striker 18 will not be converted to movement of the driver plate 44. The S-shaped profile of the cam slot 42 prevents impact forces from being transmitted to the actuator 16. Impact loads are ultimately transmitted to the vehicle. The result is the atctuatorlό being insulated from impact forces exerted on the striker 18. The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is to be understood that the terminology, which has been used, is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

Claims: WHAT IS CLAIMED IS 1 A power stπker mechanism comprising a housing, a striker mounted on a striker plate, said striker plate mounted on said housing for sliding movement between an inboard and an outboard position, a dπver plate mounted to the housing for sliding movement is a direction orthogonal to said sliding movement of said stnker plate and operably connected therewith in a camming relation, and an actuator operatively engaging said drive plate for effecting movement thereof to thereb effect movement of said striker plate between said inboard and outboard positions, said camming relation comprising end phases corresponding to said inboard and outboard positions wherem said striker plate and said dπver plate are coupled to the housing and comprising an intermediate phase intermediate said end phases wherem said striker plate and said dπver plate are uncoupled from said housing enabling said sliding movement of said striker plate and said drive plate 2 A power striker mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherem one of said striker plate and said driver plate has a pm and the other of said striker plate and said driver plate having an S-shaped slot, said pin in sliding engagement with said S-shaped slot, said S-shaped slot having end regions extending in said orthogonal direction and interconnected by a diagonally extending section, whereby when said pm is m said end regions of said S-shaped slot, forces imparted to the stπker are transmitted to the housing and when said pm moves along said diagonally extending section, said driver plate effects mov ement of said stπker plate 3 A power striker mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherem said dπver plate is m a geared relation with said actuator 4 A power striker mechanism as claimed in claim 3 wherem said driver plate has a seπes of teeth and said actuator has a dπve gear in dπving engagement with said seπes of teeth of said driver plate 5 A power stπker mechanism as claimed m claim 4 wherem said housing has a sector gear mounted thereon, said sector gear operably extending between said seπes of teeth of said dπver plate and said dπve gear of said actuator 6 A power stπker mechanism as claimed in claim 5 wherein said housing compπses a backplate engaging a cover plate defining a cavity therebetween, said backplate having an aperture receiving said pin, said cover plate having an aperture through which said stπker extends, said cavity having bushings defining a first slide channel, said striker plate s dably received in said slide channel 7 A power striker mechanism as claimed m claim 6 wherem said housing further comprises a driver housing engaging a dπvei cover defining a cavity therebetween, said drn er cover having an aperture receiving said pm, said dπver housing having an aperture providing access for said operative engagement between said drive plate and said actuator, said cavity having bushings defining a second slide channel, said dπve plate shdably received in said slide channel 8 A power stπker mechanism as claimed in claim 7 wherein said dπver cover and said backplate engage in a back to back relation with said respective apertures aligning enabling said pm to extend therethrough 9 A power striker mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein said housing compπses a backplate engaging a cover plate defining a cavity therebetween, said backplate having an aperture recen mg said pm, said cover plate having an aperture through which said striker extends, said cavity having bushings defining a first slide channel, said stπker plate shdably received in said slide channel 10 A power stπker mechanism as claimed in claim 9 wherein said housing further compnses a driver housing engaging a driver cover defining a cavity therebetween, said dπver cover having an aperture receiving said pm, said driver housing having an aperture providing access for said operative engagement between said drive plate and said actuator, said cavity having bushings defining a second slide channel, said drive plate slidably received in said slide channel. 11. A power striker mechanism as claimed in claim 10 wherein said driver cover and said backplate engages in a back to back relation with said respective apertures aligning enabling said pin to extend therethrough.

Inventors: OXLEY PETER LANCE, PATON GORDON ANDREW, OXLEY, PETER, LANCE, PATON, GORDON, ANDREW
Applicants: ATOMA INT CORP, OXLEY PETER LANCE, PATON GORDON ANDREW, ATOMA INTERNATIONAL CORP., OXLEY, PETER, LANCE, PATON, GORDON, ANDREW
Application year: 2001
Main classification: E05B15
IPC codes: E05B65