Patent Publication Number: US-10787842-B2

Title: Vehicle latch activation system and motor vehicle comprising such vehicle latch activation system

Description:
The present invention relates to a vehicle latch activation system and to a motor vehicle comprising such vehicle latch activation system. 
     Motor vehicle safety standards require that the doors of the vehicle stays closed in case of a collision. 
     To meet these requirements, the PCT application publication WO 2004/042177 A1 describes a vehicle latch activation system of the type comprising:
         a bracket,   an activation element intended to activate a latch by rotating with respect to the bracket around an activation axis from an initial position to a final position, wherein a collision on the bracket along a collision direction may cause the activation element to rotate from its initial position to its final position,   a blocking element intended, as a result of the collision, to rotate with respect to the bracket around a blocking axis, from a disengaged position in which the blocking element allows the activation element to reach its final position, to a blocking position in which the blocking element is intended to block the activation element at a blocked position located between the initial position and the final position.       

     In this publication, the blocking element is in the form of a pawl having an end which blocks the activation element when the blocking element is at its blocking position. Thus, the blocking element is placed on the side of the activation axis. 
     The invention aims at providing an alternative vehicle latch activation system, which allows to free space of the sides of the activation axis. 
     Accordingly, it is proposed a vehicle latch activation system of the previous type, characterized in that the blocking axis is essentially orthogonal to the activation axis. 
     Because the blocking axis is not parallel anymore to the activation axis, it is possible to place the blocking element at another location than on the sides of the activation axis, for instance in front of or behind the activation element according to the activation axis. 
     Optionally, the activation element comprises an activation lever provided with a first stop intended to follow a course when the activation element rotates from its initial position to its final position, and the blocking element comprises a blocking lever having an end portion which is located outside of the course of the first stop of the activation lever when the blocking element is in its disengaged position, and which is located on the course of the first stop of the activation lever when the blocking element is in its blocking position, so as to intercept the first stop of the activation lever. 
     Also optionally, the end portion of the blocking lever is intended to follow a course when the blocking element rotates from its disengaged position to its blocking position, and the activation lever comprises a second stop located on the course of the end portion of the blocking lever when the activation element is at its initial position, so as to block the end portion of the blocking lever at the blocking position of the blocking element. 
     Thanks to the second stop of the activation lever, the end portion of the blocking arm is prevented from going beyond the first stop of the activation lever, which helps insuring that the end portion of the blocking element is correctly located to intercept the activation element. 
     Also optionally, the blocking element comprises a body intended to rotate around the blocking axis, wherein the blocking lever projects from the body of the blocking element and comprises a base portion attached to the body of the blocking element, and the end of the blocking lever is shifted with respect to the base portion of the blocking lever along the blocking axis. 
     This shifting allows placing the blocking axis at a location shifted with respect to the activation element, i.e. not directly in the continuity of the activation axis. In this manner, a gain of space directly in front of or directly behind the activation element can be obtained. 
     Also optionally, the blocking element further comprises a mass lever intended to counterbalance the inertia of the blocking lever when the collision occurs. 
     This option is for example useful when the end of the blocking lever is shifted with respect to the base portion of the blocking lever. In fact, this shifting often implies the use of a bigger blocking element. In that case, the mass lever may help to counterbalance the extra weight. 
     Also optionally, the activation lever further comprises a guiding wall intended, when the activation element rotates from its initial position to its final position while the blocking element is at its disengaged position, to guide the end of the blocking lever so as to make the blocking element rotate around the blocking axis. 
     Also optionally, the vehicle latch activation system further comprises:
         a handle intended to rotate with respect to the bracket around a handle axis so as to make the activation element rotate from its initial position to its final position,
 
and the handle axis is essentially parallel to the activation axis.
       

     This option allows a better transmission of movement from the handle to the activation element. For instance, it allows the use of a gear mechanism between the handle and the activation element. 
     Also optionally, the vehicle latch activation system further comprises a gear mechanism between the handle and the activation element. 
     It is also proposed a motor vehicle comprising:
         a door,   a latch for the door,   a vehicle latch activation system according to the invention for activating the latch.       

     Optionally, the activation axis is essentially parallel to a front-back direction of the motor vehicle, and the blocking axis is essentially parallel to a top-bottom direction of the motor vehicle. 
    
    
     
       A non-limiting embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a three-dimensional view of a vehicle door opening system according to the invention from the exterior of the vehicle, 
         FIG. 2  is a three-dimensional view the vehicle door opening system from the interior of the vehicle, 
         FIGS. 3 and 4  are a three-dimensional view of activation and blocking elements of the vehicle door opening system of the  FIGS. 1 and 2 , 
         FIG. 5  is a three-dimensional view showing a front part of the activation element, 
         FIG. 6  is a three-dimensional view showing a rear part of the activation element. 
     
    
    
     In the following description, positioning terms such as front, back, left, right, etc., refer to an orthogonal basis comprising the following three directions: front-back F-B, left-right L-R and top-bottom T-Bt. In the described example, these three directions correspond to the usual directions attached to the motor vehicle. However, in other embodiments of the invention the directions front-back F-B, left-right L-R and top-bottom T-Bt could be any set of arbitrary directions forming an orthogonal basis. 
     Furthermore, when the term “essentially” is used in a comparison between directions, it means that there is a tolerance of plus or minus 15° in particular for comparing the previous directions attached to the motor vehicle with movement directions of elements of the door opening system that will be described below. Preferably, the tolerance is plus or minus 10°, in particular for the tolerance between two movement directions of the elements of the door opening system that will be described below. For instance, the expression “two essentially parallel directions” means that the angle between the two directions is equal to zero with a tolerance of plus or minus 15°, that is to say that the angle is in the interval from −15° to 15°. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a door opening system  100  for a motor vehicle (not depicted) will now be described. 
     The door opening system  100  first comprises a latch  102  intended, when engaged in a body  104  of the motor vehicle to maintain a door (not depicted) of the motor vehicle closed with respect to the body  104 , and, when disengaged from the body  104 , to allow opening of the door. In the described example, the door is a left door of the vehicle. 
     The door opening system  100  further comprises a latch activation system  106  intended to activate the latch  102  via a Bowden cable  108  in order to move the latch  102  from its engaged position to its disengaged position. 
     The vehicle latch activation system  106  first comprises a bracket  110  attached to the door. 
     The vehicle latch activation system  106  further comprises a handle  112  intended to be manipulated by a user. The handle  112  is intended to rotate with respect to the bracket  110  around a handle axis  114  extending essentially along the front-back direction F-B, i.e. essentially parallel to the front-back direction F-B. The handle  112  may be a flap handle or a swing handle or any kind of handle rotating around an axis extending essentially along the front-back direction F-B. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the vehicle latch activation system  106  further comprises an activation element  116  intended to move with respect to the bracket  110  from an initial position to a final position in order to activate the latch  102 . The activation element  116  is intended to rotate around an activation axis  118  extending essentially along the front-back direction F-B, that is to say essentially parallel to the handle axis  114 . The activation element  116  is for example made of metallic alloy. Otherwise indicated, the activation element  116  will be described in the following while being at its initial position. 
     The vehicle latch activation system  106  further comprises an activation element return mechanism  120  intended to push back the activation element  116  towards its initial position. The activation element return mechanism  120  comprises for example a return spring winded around the activation axis  118 . 
     The vehicle latch activation system  106  further comprises a blocking element  122  intended to rotate with respect to the bracket  110  around a blocking axis  124  extending essentially along the top-bottom T-Bt direction. 
     During its rotation, the blocking element  122  is intended to move with respect to the bracket  110  from a disengaged position (which is the position illustrated on the figures) in which the blocking element  122  allows the activation element  116  to reach its final position, to a blocking position in which the blocking element  122  is intended to block the activation element  116  at a blocked position located between the initial position and the final position. Otherwise indicated, the blocking element  122  will be described in the following while being at its disengaged position. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the activation element  116  first comprises a cylindrical body  126  extending around the activation axis  118 . 
     The activation element  116  further comprises an activation lever  128  projecting essentially to the bottom-right from a rear end of the cylindrical body  126 . 
     The latch activation lever  128  comprises a free end provided with a cage  130 , in which a ball  132  (illustrated on  FIG. 2 ) is confined. As illustrated on  FIG. 2 , the Bowden cable  108  connects the ball  132  to the latch  102 , so that rotation of the latch activation lever  128  pulls the Bowden cable  108 , which in turn disengages the latch  102  from the body  104 . In other embodiments, the ball  132  could be replaced by a cylinder. The choice between ball and cylinder depends on the Bowden cable type. 
     Back to  FIG. 3 , the latch activation lever  128  further comprises a back face  134  in which a notch  136  is provided. The notch  136  is opened towards the back and towards the right. The notch  136  is delimited below by a stop floor  138  and on the left by a stop wall  140 . The stop floor  138  extends essentially horizontally (along the front-back F-B and left-right L-R directions), while the stop wall  140  extends essentially laterally (along the front-back F-B and top-bottom T-Bt directions). 
     The back face  134  is further provided with a groove  142  located under the notch  136 . The groove  142  extends essentially along the right-left R-L direction. The groove  142  has a right open end  144 . The groove  142  is delimited below by a guiding wall  146 , which extends further to the right than the stop floor  138 . 
     The activation element  116  further comprises a gear tooth  148  projecting from the cylindrical body  126  essentially towards the top. 
     The latch activation element  116  further comprises a counterweight  150  attached to the cylindrical body  126  and extending essentially under the activation axis  118 . 
     The blocking element  122  first comprises a body having the shape of a sleeve  152  extending around the blocking axis  124 . 
     The blocking element  122  further comprises a blocking arm  154  projecting frontward from the sleeve  152 . The blocking arm  154  first comprises a base portion  156  attached to the sleeve  152  and projecting essentially in the frontward direction. The blocking arm  154  further comprises an oblique portion  158  extending from the base portion  156  essentially towards the top and the front. The blocking arm  154  further comprises an end portion  160  projecting from the oblique portion  158  essentially towards the front. Because of the oblique portion  158 , the end portion  160  is located higher than the base portion  156  with respect to the top-bottom T-Bt direction. The end portion  160  is located outside the notch  136  and faces the stop wall  140 , i.e. the end portion  160  is located on the right of the stop wall  140 . 
     The blocking element  122  further comprises a mass arm  162  projecting from the sleeve  152  at the opposite of the blocking arm  154 , that is to say essentially in the backward direction. The mass arm  162  is intended to counterbalance the inertia of the blocking arm  154  in case of a collision on the bracket from the right to the left, in order to set the rotation around the blocking axis  124  to a desired amount. 
     As it will be appreciated from  FIG. 3 , the blocking element  122  is located at the rear of the activation element  116 , but not directly in the continuity of the activation axis  118 . This positioning of the blocking element  122  is possible in particular thanks to the fact that the blocking axis  124  is essentially parallel to the activation axis  118 , and thanks to the shifting of the end portion  160  of the blocking lever  154  with respect to the base portion  156  of the blocking lever  154 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the end portion  160  of the blocking arm  154  is located on the right of the stop floor  138  of the activation element  116 , so that, when the activation element  116  rotates from its initial position to its final position, the end portion  160  of the blocking arm  154  does not intercept the stop floor  138 . 
     However, the end portion  160  of the blocking arm  154  is located above the guiding wall  146 , so that, when the activation element  116  rotates from its initial position to its final position, the guiding wall  146  engages the end portion  160  of the blocking arm  154 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , a better view of the front face  134  of the activation lever  128  is provided. 
     The vehicle latch activation system  106  further comprises a blocking element return mechanism  164  intended to bring back the blocking element  122  towards its disengaged position. For example, the blocking element return mechanism  164  comprises a return spring winded around the blocking axis  124 . 
     Furthermore, the groove  142  of the activation lever  128  is delimited on the left by a left closed end  165 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , the handle  112  is intended to be manipulated by a user in order to move the activation element  116  from its initial position to its final position. To this end, the handle  112  comprises two gear teeth  166 ,  168  between which the gear tooth  148  of the activation element  116  is inserted, so as to form a gear mechanism between the handle  112  and the activation element  116 . The gear mechanism  148 ,  166 ,  168  is intended to transfer rotation from the handle  112  to the activation element  116  with a relatively constant effort. 
     Operation of the door opening system  100  will now be described. 
     When a user manipulates the handle  112  so as to make the handle  112  rotate around the handle axis  114 , the gear mechanism  148 ,  166 ,  168  transmits the rotation to the activation element  116  so as to make the activation element  116  rotate from its initial position to its final position. By doing so, the activation lever  128  of the activation element  116  pulls the Bowden cable  108 , which in turn disengages the latch  102  from the body  104 . Concurrently, the stop floor  138  of the activation lever  128  passes next to the end portion  160  of the blocking arm  154  without being intercepted by the end portion  160  of the blocking arm  154 . However, the guiding wall  146  engages the end portion  160  of the blocking arm  154  and then guides it so that the end portion  160  of the blocking arm  154  enters the groove  142  through the right open end  144  and slides on the guiding wall  146  so as to move into the groove  142  towards its left closed end  165 . This makes the blocking element  122  rotate around the blocking axis  124  away from its disengaged position, towards its blocking position. The guiding wall  146  therefore plays the role of a cam. In this way, the blocking element  122  is moved at each door opening, which prevents the blocking element  122  from being immobilized due to ice, moisture or dust. 
     In case of a collision  170  on the bracket  110  corning from the left (see  FIG. 1 ), the collision  170  may cause the activation element  116  to rotate from its initial position to its final position. In fact, the collision  170  pushes the bracket  110  towards the right. As a reaction, because of its inertia, the handle  112  tend to move with respect to the bracket  110  towards the left, which makes the activation element  116  rotate around the activation axis  118  towards its final position. Because of that, the latch  102  is at risk of being disengaged and the door opened during the collision  170 . 
     The counterweight  150  provides a first mean to prevent opening of the door during the collision  170 . In fact, because of its inertia, the counterweight  150  tends to move towards the left as a result of the collision  170 . This tends to make the activation element  116  rotate towards its initial position, which counterbalances the rotation towards the final position resulting from the inertia of the handle  112 . 
     The blocking element  122  provides a second mean to prevent opening of the door during the collision  170 , which will now be explained. 
     The first stop floor  138  is intended to follow a circular course around the activation axis  118  when the activation element  116  rotates from its initial position to its final position. As explained previously, the end portion  160  of the blocking arm  154  is located outside of the course of the stop floor  138  of the activation lever  128  when the blocking element  122  is in its disengaged position. 
     As a result of the collision  170 , because of the combined inertia of the blocking arm  154  and mass arm  162 , the blocking element  122  rotates around the blocking axis  124  from its disengaged position towards its blocking position. The end portion  160  of the blocking arm  154  enters the notch  136  from the right and is stopped by the stop wall  140  at its blocking position. In this manner, in case of a strong collision, there is no risk that the end portion  160  of the blocking arm  154  goes too far away to the left and beyond the stop floor  138 . In this blocking position, the end portion  160  of the blocking arm  154  is located on the course of the floor stop  138 , so that, if the collision  170  makes the activation element  116  rotate towards its final position, the end portion  160  of the blocking arm  154  will intercept the stop floor  138  at the blocked position of the activation element  116 . 
     After the collision  170 , the blocking element  122  comes back to its disengaged position thanks to the blocking element return mechanism  164 . This kind of blocking element is called reversible. 
     In the claims below, the terms used should not be interpreted as limiting the claims to the embodiment described in this description, but should be interpreted so as to include all of the equivalents that the claims are intended to cover in their wording and that can be envisaged by a person skilled in the art applying his or her general knowledge to the implementation of the teaching disclosed above. 
     In particular, it should be noted that the term “latch” should include any means intended to maintain the vehicle door closed. 
     Furthermore, the counterweight could be freewheeling around the activation axis. In this manner, in case of a collision on the bracket in the right to left direction, that is to say opposite of the collision  170 , the counterweight would be uncoupled from the activation element, so that the counterweight would not drag along the activation element towards its final position. 
     Furthermore, the vehicle latch activation system could also comprise a damper mechanism intended to slow down the return of the blocking element from its blocking position to its disengaged position. For instance, one of the damper mechanisms described in WO 2012/1755599 A1 could be used.