Abstract:
A system for operating a door lock ( 14 ) and a latching device ( 16 ), which can be arrested in a positive-locking manner, of a sliding door ( 10 ), said latching device preventing the sliding door ( 10 ) in its open position from sliding back. The operation of the door lock ( 14 ) and latching device ( 16 ) takes place mechanically via connecting elements, and the logical closing functions, are integrated in the door lock ( 14 ) which is situated remote from the door handles. In order to avoid very long connecting elements with cumulative tolerances, the connecting elements ( 22, 24 ) between the door handles and the door lock ( 14 ) have driver elements ( 40, 42 ) which act via a driven element ( 32, 44 ) on a connecting element ( 28 ) connected to the latching device ( 16 ).

Description:
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention is concerned with an operating arrangement for a sliding door, in particular of motor vehicles, having a door lock, a latching device which can be arrested in a positive-locking manner and is intended for holding the sliding door in its open position, and an inside door operating means having an inside door handle and also an outside door operating means having an outside door handle, it being possible for the door lock and the latching device to be operated mechanically by the door handles via connecting elements, and the logical functions for locking/unlocking the sliding door are realized in the door lock. 
   In order to prevent open sliding doors from sliding back, it is generally customary to arrest the sliding door in a nonpositive- or positive-locking manner. This latching device is preferably intended to be operated via the door handles independently of one another. 
   In known operating arrangements, the outside operating means and the inside operating means do not act directly on the latching device, which can be arrested in a positive-locking manner; instead, a control mechanism is connected inbetween which also realizes the logical functions for operating the door lock, such as the central locking system, central securing system or child safety catch, for example. This control mechanism is fitted in the region of the door handles, the latching arrangement frequently also being arranged in the vicinity of the door handles on the lower, front fastening arm of the sliding door. 
   However, relatively new developments of door locks tend toward integrating the control mechanism in the door lock which, in the case of sliding doors, is fitted in the rear region on the end of the door which lies opposite the door handles. 
   An operating arrangement according to the principle to date would consequently require connecting elements running, on the one hand, from the door handles to the door lock and, on the other hand, from the door lock to the latching device, it being possible for the long distances and cumulative tolerances to cause problems during opening of the latching device or else at least resulting in an unfavorable operating performance with an undefined release point. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The object of the present invention is to provide an operating arrangement for sliding doors, which arrangement makes it possible for the latching device to be operated with the aid of the door handles with lower tolerances. 
   According to the invention, the object is achieved by an operating arrangement of the type described at the beginning, in which the connecting elements between the two door handles and the door lock have driver elements which act via a driven element on a connecting element connected to the latching device. 
   The advantage of the driving elements arranged as near as possible to the door handles is that the effective length of connecting elements between the door handles and the latching device is considerably reduced resulting, in conjunction with the small number of cumulative tolerances, in a reliable operation of the latching device with a defined release point. The relatively short connecting elements of the latching device also simplify the installation of the sliding door with less material being used and a reduced weight. 
   Preferably, at least for the two door handles, separate connecting elements and driver elements are provided, the latter interacting with a single driven element. An operating arrangement of this type manages with a small number of parts, the driver elements preferably lying directly next to one another and the connecting elements running parallel to one another at least in this region. Additional driver elements may, for example, be provided when the operation of the latching device is not only to be possible with the aid of the door handles, but also with the aid of a servo-motor. 
   In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the driver elements act on a reversing lever on which the connecting element to the latching device is secured. A reversing lever, whose pivot point may, for example, lie between the engagement points of the connecting elements between the door handles and the door lock and the connecting element to the latching device, provides the possibility, in a confined space, of reversing the direction of movement so as to enable an advantageous arrangement of the connecting elements and, if appropriate, also to ensure a transmission ratio. 
   In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the driver elements are uncoupled from the connecting element to the latching device in such a manner that driving only takes place in a relative direction of movement to one another. The effect achieved by this measure is that when the door handles are operated so as to open the door lock, the door handles are not subjected to an additional load because of the latching device, which is basically unlocked in this case, with the result that the operating forces are not higher than in the case of door handles which cannot act on the latching device. 
   A particularly expedient and simple uncoupling makes provision for the uncoupled driving to take place by simple bearing of the driver element against a driving surface on the reversing lever. It is also conceivable for the connecting element to the latching device to correspondingly interact with the reversing lever. 
   It is particularly advantageous to design the connecting elements at least partially as Bowden cables, since primarily a transmission of tensile forces is necessary, and Bowden cables can be fitted in a relatively simple manner, particularly in very wide sliding doors. Bowden cables furthermore make it possible, at least to a certain extent, to adapt the profile of the connecting elements to the structural conditions of the sliding door. 
   In a further preferred design of the invention, provision is made for the Bowden cables of the connecting elements from the door handles to be of continuous design in the region of the driving elements, the sheath having been omitted in this region. The continuous design avoids the unnecessary accumulation of tolerances which could make the operation of the door lock more difficult. Since the operating performance of Bowden cables also depends substantially on their Bowden-cable sheaths which absorb the reaction forces, it is furthermore of particular advantage to allow the Bowden-cable sheaths of the door-handle connecting elements to end molded onto the walls of a housing body on which the reversing lever is pivotably mounted. The Bowden cable between the respective door handle and the door lock therefore does not behave any differently than a Bowden cable designed with a continuous Bowden-cable sheath, with the result that the operating performance in the case of the operating arrangement according to the invention is not worse than in continuous solutions. A mirror-symmetrical design of the housing body permits the use thereof in sliding doors on both sides of the vehicle. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explored in greater detail below with reference to the attached drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  shows a schematic illustration of the components of an operating arrangement for a sliding door; 
       FIG. 2  shows an oblique view of the deflecting device from  FIG. 1 , 
       FIG. 3  shows a view of the deflecting device according to  FIG. 2  with the latching device closed; 
       FIG. 4  shows a view of the deflecting device according to  FIG. 3  with the latching device open and the outside door handle operated; and 
       FIG. 5  shows a view corresponding to  FIG. 4  with the inside door handle operated. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1  shows a schematic sketch of the design of an operating arrangement of a sliding door  10  as used in motor vehicles. The sliding door  10  has three guide elements  12   a, b, c  which interact with guide rails on the vehicle and are arranged in the front, upper region, on the lower edge in the front region and on the rear side of the sliding door  10  in the central region. A door lock  14  having a lock latch is likewise arranged in the rear region of the sliding door  10  and locks the sliding door when it is closed by interacting with a closing bracket arranged on the vehicle. In the region of the lower guide element  12   b  there is furthermore provided a latching device  16  which can be arrested in a positive-locking manner and which can be used to latch in the sliding door  10  in a positive-locking manner when open so as to avoid it unintentionally sliding back into the closed position. 
   The operating arrangement furthermore has an inside door operating means  18 , which can be released via an inside door handle (not illustrated) accessible from the vehicle interior, and an outside door operating means  20  having an outside door handle (not shown) which is accessible from the outside. The inside operating means  18  is connected to the door lock  14  via a first Bowden cable  22  as the connecting element, while the outside operating means  20  is coupled to the door lock  14  via a second Bowden cable  24 . 
   The logical closing functions are integrated in the door lock  14  which produces the connection of the Bowden cables  22  and  24  to the detent pawl or frees or blocks them depending on the selected setting, such as central locking system, central securing system or child safety catch, for example. 
   In a region in which the two Bowden cables  22 ,  24  run parallel directly next to each other, a reversing device  26  is provided which is connected via a third Bowden cable  28  to the latching device  16 , the reversing device  26  enabling the latching device  16  to be released by the Bowden cables  22 ,  24  being moved by means of the door handles. 
   In  FIG. 2 , the reversing device  26  is illustrated in an oblique view with the housing  29  open. The housing  29  consists of a housing body  30  manufactured from plastic and of a housing cover (not illustrated). A reversing lever  32  is rotably mounted about a pivot spindle  34  in the housing  30 . Like the housing  29 , the reversing lever  32  is manufactured from plastic. 
   The first Bowden cable  22  of the inside operating means  18  and the second Bowden cable  24  of the outside operating means are guided in the upper region through the housing body  30 , the Bowden-cable sheaths  36  being directly molded onto the housing body  30 , with the result that the Bowden cables  22 ,  24  perform as continuous Bowden cables without an increase in tolerances occurring on account of the reversing device  26  connected inbetween. In the interior of the housing, the two Bowden cables  22 ,  24  run without sheaths through cutouts  38  on one end of the reversing lever  32 , there being secured, in a nonpositive- or positive-locking manner, a first driver element  40  on the wire core of the first Bowden cable  22  and a second driver element  42  on the wire core of the second Bowden cable  24  (see FIGS.  4  and  5 ). The driver elements ( 40 ,  42 ) have a rounded outer contour matching the contour of a bearing surface  44  (see  FIGS. 3  to  5 ) on the reversing lever  32 . The driver elements bear freely against the bearing surface  44 , with the result that the reversing lever is uncoupled from the driver elements  40 ,  42  in such a manner that though driving by the driver elements  40 ,  42  is possible for unlocking the latching device  16 , the reversing lever  32  remains in its unlocking position after the unlocking, while the driver elements  40 ,  42  return into their starting position after the respectively operated door handle has been released. This is explored in more precise detail later on in conjunction with  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
   At its end lying opposite the bearing surface  44 , the reversing lever  32  is provided with a socket  46  in which a driver element  48  of the third Bowden cable  28  to the latching device  16  is fitted. The third Bowden cable  28  runs through an opening  50  in the housing body  30  in whose end region the Bowden-cable sheath  52  (see  FIG. 2 ) of the third Bowden cable  28  is fastened. Furthermore, the housing body  30  has an additional opening  54  in its wall which is opposite the opening  50  and permits a mirror-inverted fitting of the housing  28 . 
     FIG. 3  shows a position of the reversing device  26  in which the latching device  16  is latched in a positive-locking manner, i.e. the sliding door  10  is open and neither the inside door operating means  18  nor the outside door operating means  20  have been released. If it is now desired to close the sliding door  10 , the first driver  40  can be shifted by operating the inside door handle, in accordance with the illustration of  FIG. 5 , or the second driver  42  can be shifted by operation of the outside door handle, in accordance with the illustration in  FIG. 4 , the respective driver element  40 ,  42  pivoting the reversing lever  32  via the bearing surface  44 . After the latching device  16  has been released and the sliding door  10  unblocked, the reversing lever  32  remains in the open position illustrated in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , while the respectively operated driver element  40  or  42  returns, after the door handle has been released, to the inoperative position illustrated in FIG.  3 . Even after the door lock  14  of the sliding door has been latched into place, the reversing lever  32  remains in its open position, with the result that when the door lock  14  is operated by the inside door operating means  18  or the outside door operating means  20 , no additional forces act on the two Bowden cables  22 ,  24 . Consequently, in comparison with an operating arrangement without a reversing device  26 , higher manipulating forces are not necessary when unlocking the sliding door  10 . 
   The design of the housing body  30  virtually as a constituent part of the Bowden-cable sheaths  36  of the first and second Bowden cables  22 ,  24  avoids an accumulation of tolerances, so that reliable operation of the door lock  14  with a precise release point is possible. However, the housing body  30  has to be of sufficiently stiff design between the inlet and outlet points of the Bowden cables  22 ,  24 . 
   While the reversing device  26  effects a reversal of the direction of movement, which is advantageous in the majority of installation positions, and also enables a transmission ratio by variation of the lever-arm lengths, it is basically also conceivable for the driver element  48  to be directly driven, for example in a sliding guide, by the driver element  40  of the first Bowden cable or by the driver element  42  of the second Bowden cable. 
   Departing from the illustrated implementation of the uncoupling by the driver elements  40 ,  42  bearing loosely against the bearing surface  44 , uncoupling may also be achieved by the driver element  48  of the third Bowden cable  28  interacting in a similar manner with a bearing surface and by the two driver elements  40 ,  42  of the first and second Bowden cables  22 ,  24  being fitted in the reversing lever  32 . Even a play eliminator, effective in the pushing direction, in the third Bowden cable  28  is conceivable for realizing the uncoupling, but is more complicated. 
   Departures from the embodiment described are particularly also conceivable in the arrangement of the latching device  16  which can basically be arranged on one of the illustrated guide elements  12   a, b, c  whose position may deviate from the illustrated exemplary embodiment. Even an arrangement of the latching device separate from the guide elements is conceivable.