Abstract:
An electric lid closure generally comprises a lock unit mounted to a trunk lid and an electric closing unit mounted to a mouth portion of a trunk room. The lock unit includes a latch plate and a locking plate by which the latch plate is locked at its latch position. The electric closing unit includes a movable striker engageable with the latch plate, and an electric power mechanism for moving the movable striker between an uppermost position and a lowermost position with an electric power. A first position sensor senses whether the movable striker assumes the uppermost position or the lowermost position. A second position sensor senses whether the trunk lid passes by a critical position or not. The critical position corresponds to a position of the movable striker which is above the uppermost position. A third position sensor senses whether the locking plate locks the latch plate or not. A control unit energizes the electric closing unit to pull down the trunk lid to a full close position only when the first position sensor senses the movable striker assuming the uppermost position, the second position sensor senses the trunk lid passing by the critical position and the third position sensor senses the latch plate being locked by the locking plate.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to electric lid closures which close and open a lid by force of an electric power, and more particularly to electric closures of a type which is applied to a trunk lid of a motor vehicle to draw down the lid to its fully close position by force of the electric power once the lid comes to a predetermined almost close position. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Hitherto, various lid closures of the above-mentioned type have been proposed and put into practical use particularly in the field of motor vehicles. Some are of a type which comprises a lock unit mounted on a lid and an electric closing unit mounted on a trunk mouth of the vehicle. The lock unit includes a latch plate for latching a striker possessed by the electric closing unit. That is, when the lid is pivoted to an almost close position where the latch plate engages with the striker, the electric closing unit starts to operate and causes a drawing section thereof to draw down the lid, via the latched striker, to a fully close position by force of an electric power. In this fully close position of the lid, the drawing section assumes its lower work position. 
     When, under this fully close position of the lid, a trunk open lever installed in the vehicle cabin is manipulated, the latch plate disengages the striker to release the lid. Upon this, the electric closing unit operates to move the drawing section upward to its upper stand-by position. Once the drawing section reaches the upper stand-by position, operation of the electric closing unit is stopped. 
     However, due to the inherent construction, some of the above-mentioned electric lid closures have failed to provide users with satisfied performance. That is, when, for instance, in winter, manipulation of the trunk open lever fails to have the lid sufficiently open due to freezing of some parts of the mechanism irrespective of disengagement of the latch plate from the striker, the following drawback tends to occur. That is, when, under this half-finished condition, the lid is accidentally or carelessly pushed down to a position to bring about an engagement between the latch plate and the striker, the drawing section is forced to move down to the lower work position from the upper stand-by position, which inevitably induces unexpected full closing of the lid. This unexpected action is very inconvenient because an operator has to manipulate the trunk open lever again for opening the lid. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electric lid closure which is free of the above-mentioned drawback. 
     That is, according to the present invention, there is provided an electric lid closure wherein even when the drawing section is ready to start its drawing action, the drawing action is not permitted if a lid condition detecting means does not sense passing of the trunk lid by a predetermined critical position. 
     According to the present invention, there is provided an electric lid closure for use with an automotive trunk lid which is able to close a trunk room of the vehicle. The electric lid closure comprises a lock unit mounted to the trunk lid, the lock unit including a latch plate and a locking plate, the locking plate being able to lock the latch plate at a latch position; an electric closing unit mounted to a mouth portion of the trunk room, the electric closing unit including a movable striker engageable with the latch plate, and an electric power mechanism for moving the movable striker between an uppermost position and a lowermost position with an electric power; a first position sensor which senses whether the movable striker assumes the uppermost position or the lowermost position; a second position sensor which senses whether the trunk lid passes by a critical position or not, the critical position corresponding to a position of the movable striker which is above the uppermost position; a third position sensor which senses whether the locking plate locks the latch plate or not; and a control unit which energizes the electric closing unit to pull down the trunk lid to a full close position only when the first position sensor senses the movable striker assuming the uppermost position, the second position sensor senses the trunk lid passing by the critical position and the third position sensor senses the latch plate being locked by the locking plate. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of an electric lid closure which embodies the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a rear view of a motor vehicle, showing the electric lid closure of the invention applied to a trunk lid of the vehicle; 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of the electric lid closure of the invention; 
     FIGS. 4A,  4 B and  4 C are illustrations of a striker, showing operation of the electric lid closure; 
     FIG. 5 is a control circuit for controlling the electric lid closure; 
     FIGS. 6A,  6 B and  6 C are views taken from the direction of the arrow “VI” of FIG. 3, respectively showing different conditions of the electric lid closure; 
     FIG. 7 is a view taken from the direction of the arrow “VII” of FIG. 6A; 
     FIG. 8 is a drawing of the electric lid closure, showing one condition of the same; and 
     FIG. 9 is a drawing similar to FIG. 8, but showing another condition of the lid closure. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In the following, description will be made with respect to an electric lid closure “ELC” of the present invention, which is operatively applied to a trunk lid of a motor vehicle. 
     Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a rear part of the motor vehicle, which has a trunk room “TR” equipped with a trunk lid “TL”. In the illustrated vehicle, the trunk lid “TL” is pivotally connected to the vehicle body to open and close the trunk room “TR”. 
     As is seen from this drawing, the electric lid closure “ELC” generally comprises a lock unit  15  mounted on a free center end of the lid “TL” and an electric closing unit  20  mounted on a periphery  12  of a mouth portion  11  of the trunk room “TR”. A weather strip “WS” is bonded to the periphery  12  of the mouth portion  11 . With this weather strip “WS”, a water-tight abutment of the lid “TL” to the periphery  12  of the mouth portion  11  is achieved when the lid “TL” assumes its full close position relative to the trunk room “TR”. 
     As is seen from FIGS. 2 and 6A, the lock unit  15  comprises a lock base  16  which is formed with a striker inserting guide slot  16   a,  a latch plate (not shown) which is pivotally connected to the lock base  16  to pivot between a latch position to latch a striker  45  held by the electric closing unit  20  and an unlatch position to unlatch the striker  45 , and a locking plate (not shown) which is pivotally connected to the lock base  16  to pivot between a lock position to lock the latch plate at the latch position and a release position to release the latch plate to permit the same to take the unlatch position. The detail of this lock unit  15  is described in for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,292 granted on Aug. 22, 1995. 
     As is seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, the electric closing unit  20  comprises a support base  20   a  which is secured to the periphery  12  of the mouth portion  11  of the trunk room “TR” and a striker base  40  which is integrally formed with the above-mentioned striker  45 . 
     As is seen from FIGS. 1 and 3, the support base  20   a  comprises a first vertical wall  22 , a second vertical wall  24  and a stepped wall  23  through which the first and second vertical walls  22  and  24  are integrally connected. The stepped wall  23  is formed with a through opening  25 . 
     As is seen from FIG. 1, the support base  20   a  has at its right side a pivot pin  21  fixed thereto. A right end of the striker base  40  is pivotally connected to the pivot pin  21  so that the striker base  40  can pivot between an uppermost position as shown in FIG. 8 and a lowermost position as shown in FIG.  9 . As will become apparent as the description proceeds, the uppermost position of the striker base  40  is referred to a draw action starting position and the lowermost position of the same is referred to a draw action finishing position. 
     As is seen from FIGS. 1,  3  and  8 , the striker  45  is provided at a middle portion of the striker base  40 . The striker  45  comprises a bent portion  46  provided by bending a part of the striker base  40  and a striker bar  48  provided by forming an opening  47  in an upper part of the bent portion  46 . 
     As will be seen from FIG. 3, the pivotal striker base  40  is slidably placed on the front surface of the first vertical wall  22  of the support base  20   a.    
     As is seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, when the trunk lid “TL” is about to take the full close position during its closing movement, the striker bar  48  of the striker  45  inserts into the striker inserting guide slot  16   a  of the lock base  16  of the lock unit  15  fixed to the trunk lid “TL”. 
     As will become apparent hereinafter, during the time when the striker base  40  pivots between the draw action starting position and the draw action finishing portion, the striker bar  48  of the striker  45  moves upward or downward in the striker inserting guide slot  16   a  of the lock base  16 . 
     As is seen from FIGS. 4A to  4 C, the striker bar  48  has a generally trapezoidal cross section with its leading edge made thinner than a trailing edge. 
     As is seen from FIG. 1, the support base  20   a  has on a left side thereof a drawing unit  50  mounted thereon. As will be described in detail hereinafter, the drawing unit  50  functions to draw the latch plate of the lock unit  15  downward through the striker  45 . The striker base  40  passes through the through opening  25  of the support base  20   a  having a left portion thereof exposed to the rear side of the support base  20   a.  The left portion of the striker base  40  is formed with a cam slot  41 . 
     The drawing unit  50  generally comprises the cam slot  41  of the striker base  40 , a power arm  55  rotatably supported on the left portion of the support base  20   a,  a cam follower  56  pivotally connected to a peripheral portion of the power arm  55  and slidably engaged with the cam slot  41  and a power mechanism  70  for driving the power arm  55 . The power mechanism  70  is mounted on the front surface of support base  20   a.    
     As is seen from FIGS. 1 and 8, the power arm  55  has an input shaft  57  fixed to an eccentric part thereof. The input shaft  57  passes through an opening formed in the support base  20   a  and is operatively connected at its leading end to an output shaft of a speed reduction gear of the power mechanism  70 . As is seen from FIG. 1, the power mechanism  70  comprises a housing  71  in which an electric motor and the speed reduction gear are installed. Thus, upon energization of the electric motor, the power of the motor is transmitted through the speed reduction gear to the power arm  55 . Thus, the power arm  55  is rotated about an axis of the input shaft  57  to cause the cam follower  56  to move in the cam slot  41  while pivoting the striker base  40  upward or downward about the pivot pin  21  between the above-mentioned draw action stating and finishing positions. 
     As is seen from FIG. 1, to the left side of the support base  20   a,  there is mounted a draw condition detecting switch  80  which has a detecting follower  81  slidably engaged with a periphery of the power arm  55 . 
     The power arm  55  comprises a semicircular part  55   a  which constitutes a half of the arm  55  and first and second depressed parts  55   b  and  55   c  which are located at circumferential ends of the semicircular part  55   a.  The outer periphery of the semicircular part  55   a  is concentric with the rotation center (viz., input shaft  57 ) of the power arm  55 . 
     It is to be noted that the first depressed part  55   b  is used for detecting the above-mentioned draw action starting position, and the second depressed part  55   c  is used for detecting the draw action finishing position. That is, when the detecting follower  81  of the draw condition detecting switch  80  is in contact with either one of the first and second depressed parts  55   b  and  55   c,  the detecting switch  80  assumes ON state. 
     As is seen from FIG. 1, a lid position sensing lever  85  is pivotally connected to an upper part of the support base  20   a  through a pivot shaft  28 . The sensing lever  85  has a generally L-shaped cross section to increase a mechanical strength thereof. The sensing lever  85  is formed with a detecting arm  86  and biased to pivot counterclockwise in FIG. 1 by means of a return spring  87  disposed about the pivot shaft  28 . The detecting arm  86  is contactable with the lock base  16  of the lock unit  15  mounted to the trunk lid “TL”. 
     A lid critical position sensing switch  88  is fixed to the support base  20   a  of the closing unit  20 , which produces an electric signal representing a critical position of the trunk lid “TL” based on the movement of the position sensing lever  85 . 
     FIGS. 6A,  6 B and  6 C show a positional relationship between the lid position sensing lever  85  and the lock base  16  with respect to the locked condition between the striker  45  and the latch plate of the lock unit  15 . For showing the detail of the turn spring  87  disposed about the pivot shaft  28 , these drawings are those viewed from a back side of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 6A shows, by a phantom line, a position assumed by the sensing lever  85  when the striker bar  48  fully engages with the latch plate of the lock unit  15  with the striker base  40  taking the lowermost position of FIG.  9 . As shown, in this case, the detecting arm  86  is turned largely by the lock base  16  against the force of the spring  87 . It is to be noted that the position of the sensing lever  85  shown by a solid line is a rest position assumed by the lever  85  when the trunk lid “TL” is fully open. That is, when having no load, the sensing lever  85  assumes a relatively horizontal position. 
     FIG. 6B shows, by a phantom line, a position assumed by the sensing lever  85  when the striker bar  48  fully engages with the latch plate of the lock unit  15  with the striker base  40  taking the uppermost position of FIG.  8 . As shown, in this case, the detecting arm  86  is turned small by the lock base  16  against the force of the spring  87 . 
     FIG. 6C shows, by a phantom line, a position assumed by the sensing lever  85  when the striker bar  48  is fully engaged with the latch plate of the lock unit  15  with the striker base  40  taking a position corresponding to the critical position of the trunk lid “TL”, which is slightly higher than the uppermost position of FIG.  8 . As shown, in this case, the detecting arm  86  is turned slightly by the lock base  16  against the force of the spring  87 . 
     As will be described in detail hereinafter, when the trunk lid “TL” is pushed down to such critical position after establishing the latched engagement between the striker bar  48  and the latch plate, the drawing unit  50  becomes energized to start to draw down the trunk lid “TL”. 
     FIG. 5 shows a control circuit for controlling the power mechanism  70  of the drawing unit  50 . As shown, one terminal of the lid critical position sensing switch  88  is connected to a negative terminal of a battery “BT”. The other terminal of the switch  88  is led to a control unit  100 . A lock switch  90  has one terminal connected to the negative terminal of the battery “BT” and the other terminal led to the control unit  100 . A lock lamp  92  has one terminal connected to a positive terminal of the battery “BT” and the other terminal connected to the other terminal of the lock switch  90 . It is to be noted that the lock switch  90  assumes its ON state to energize the lock lamp  92  when the latch plate of the lock unit  15  is properly engaged with the striker  45  and locked by the locking plate. The draw condition detecting switch  80  has terminals connected to the control unit  100 , one of which is connected to the negative terminal of the battery “BT”. The electric motor “M” of the power mechanism  70  has one terminal connected to the negative terminal of the battery “BT” and the other terminal led to a switching section of a relay “R” which has one terminal connected to the negative terminal of the battery “BT” and the other terminal led to the control unit  100 . An energizing section of the relay “R” has one terminal connected to the control unit  100  and the other terminal connected to the negative terminal of the battery “BT”. A diode “D” is possessed by the energizing section. 
     The control unit  100  is programmed to carry out the following operation. That is, energization of the motor of the power mechanism  70  is effected only when all of the lock switch  90 , the draw condition detecting switch  80  and the lid critical position sensing switch  88  assume their ON state. In other words, even when the latch plate of the lock unit  15  fully engages with the striker  45  and the draw condition detecting switch  80  detects the draw action starting position, energization of the motor is not carried out if the trunk lid “TL” fails to pass by the critical position. That is, only when, under this condition, the lid critical position sensing switch  88  senses passing of the trunk lid “TL” by the critical position that is somewhat higher than the position assumed by the trunk lid “TL” when the striker base  40  assumes the uppermost position of FIG. 8, the electric motor “M” is energized. 
     In the following, operation will be described. 
     For ease of understanding, description will be commenced with respect to a full open condition of the trunk lid “TL”. 
     Under this condition, the lock unit  15  assumes a release condition inducing OFF state of the lock switch  90 , and the striker base  40  of the electric closing unit  20  assumes the draw action starting position (viz., uppermost position) of FIG.  8 . Thus, the detecting follower  81  of the draw condition detecting switch  80  is in contact with the first depressed part  55   b  of the power arm  55  inducing ON state of the switch  80 . Furthermore, under this open condition of the trunk lid “TL”, the detecting arm  86  of the sensing lever  85  assumes the rest position shown by the solid line in for example FIG. 6B, inducing OFF state of the lid critical position sensing switch  88 . 
     When, due to application of a certain force to the trunk lid “TL”, the lid “TL” starts to be pivoted downward, that is, in a closing direction, the lock unit  15  approaches obliquely the striker  45  provided by the draw unit  50 . During this approaching, the striker bar  48  of the striker  45  enters the striker inserting guide slot  16   a  of the lock base  16  (see FIG. 6C) and finally engages with the latch plate of the lock unit  15 . It is now to be noted that any shock then applied to the striker bar  48  from the latch plate of the lock unit  15  is assuredly received by the first vertical wall  22  of the support base  20   a  which slidably supports a base part of the bent portion  46  and its neighboring part. Since the striker bar  48  of the striker  45  and the first vertical wall  22  of the support base  20   a  are positioned close to each other, any moment produced around the base part of the bent potion  46  upon receiving the shock is small, which induces a satisfactory durability of the striker  45 , the striker base  40  and the first vertical wall  22 . 
     When the striker bar  48  of the striker  45  is brought into engagement with the latch plate of the lock unit  15  as is described hereinabove, the locking plate of the lock unit  15  is pivoted to the lock position to lock the latch plate at the latch position. Upon this, the lock switch  90  is turned ON. 
     When, due to further downward pivoting of the trunk lid “TL”, the lock base  16  of the lock unit  15  becomes into abutment with and pushes down the detecting arm  86  of the lid position sensing lever  85  beyond the above-mentioned critical position of FIG. 6C, the lid critical position sensing switch  88  is turned ON. 
     Upon this, the control unit  100  starts the drawing unit  50  and thus rotates the electric motor “M” of the power mechanism  70  in a lid drawing direction. With this, the power arm  55  (see FIG. 8) is rotated in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 8 about the axis of the input shaft  57  to start operation of the drawing unit  50 . 
     That is, when the power arm  55  is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 8, the cam follower  56  of the power arm  55  turns in the same direction while moving in the cam slot  41  of the striker base  40  pushing down the striker base  40  about the pivot pin  21 . Thus, during this, the trunk lid “TL” is gradually pulled down. 
     During this downward movement of the trunk lid “TL”, the striker  45  is slidably guided at one edge by the first vertical wall  22  of the support base  20   a.  That is, even when the striker bar  48  receives a force from the latch plate of the lock unit  15  from the oblique direction (see FIG.  3 ), a subsequent downward movement of the striker base  40  is carried out vertically, which can minimize the degree by which the electric closing unit  20  projects into the trunk room “TR”. That is, provision of the unit  20  does not affect the capacity of the trunk room “TR”. 
     As will be seen from FIG. 8, during the counterclockwise rotation of the power arm  55  inducing the downward pivoting of the striker base  40  about the pivot  21 , the detecting follower  81  slides on the outer edge of the semicircular part  55   a  of the power arm  55 . 
     When, thus, the striker base  40  is brought to the lowermost position (viz., the draw action finishing position) of FIG. 9, the detecting follower  81  comes to the second depressed part  55   c  of the power arm  55 . With this, the draw condition detecting switch  80  is turned OFF stopping energization of the electric motor “M”. Upon stopping energization of the motor “M”, the control unit  100  returns the lid critical position sensing switch  88  to OFF state. 
     The trunk lid “TL” is thus fully lowered and assumes a full close condition. At a final period of the lid closing movement, a periphery of the trunk lid “TL” contacts and presses the weather strip “WS” on the periphery  12  (see FIG. 2) of the trunk room mouth portion  11 . Thus, in the fully close condition of the trunk lid “TL”, a water-tight sealing is achieved between the lid “TL” and the trunk room “TR”. 
     During the downward pivoting of the trunk lid “TL”, as is seen from FIG. 4B, the striker bar  48  of the striker  45  moves down along a curved path. 
     Under the full close condition of the trunk lid “TL”, the detecting arm  86  of the lid position sensing lever  85  assumes the largely pivoted position (as illustrated by a phantom line) of FIG.  6 A. 
     FIGS. 4A to  4 C are provided for explaining an advantage given by the unique structure of the striker bar  48  of the striker  45 . It is to be noted that FIGS. 4A and 4C show respectively positions of the striker bar  48  at the draw action starting and finishing positions of the striker base  40 , which would be assumed when the striker base  40  is inaccurately assembled with its left side displaced down and up with respect to a normal position shown by FIG.  4 B. 
     As is shown in these drawings and has been mentioned hereinafore, the striker bar  48  has a generally trapezoidal cross section with its leading edge made thinner than its trailing edge. Due to this trapezoidal cross section possessed by the striker bar  48 , the striker inserting guide slot  16   a  of the lock base  16  can be made small in size or width as will be understood from the drawings. That is, if the striker bar  48  has a rectangular cross section as is illustrated by a phantom line, the striker inserting guide slot  16   a  is compelled to have a wider path for accommodating such striker bar  48 . Furthermore, even if the striker bar  40  is assembled inaccurately as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4C, the striker bar  48  never interfere with the peripheral edge of the guide slot  16   a.    
     When now, for opening the trunk lid “TL”, a trunk open lever (not shown) installed in the vehicle cabin is manipulated, the locking plate (not shown) of the lock unit  15  unlocks the latch plate to cause the latter to release the striker bar  48  inducing OFF state of the lock switch  90 . In this condition, the trunk lid “TL” is readily opened when a certain force is applied to the lid “TL” in an opening direction. Upon release of the striker bar  48  from the latch plate, by the restoring force of the weather strip “WS”, the trunk lid “TL” is slightly lifted permitting the detecting arm  86  to pivot upward passing by the critical position of FIG.  6 C. Thus, the lid critical position sensing switch  88  is turned ON. Upon receiving the ON signal from the switch  88 , the control unit  100  energizes the electric motor “M” of the power mechanism  70  to run in a reversed direction, and thus the power arm  55  (see FIG. 9) is rotated in a clockwise direction in this drawing pivoting up the striker base  40  about the pivot pin  21 . When the turning of the power arm  55  comes to the position where the detecting follower  81  contacts the first depressed part  55   c  of the power arm  55  causing ON state of the draw condition detecting switch  80 , the control unit  100  stops the energization of the electric motor “M”. Thus, upon this, the striker base  40  assumes the uppermost position (viz., the draw action starting position) of FIG.  8 . 
     When, under this condition, the trunk lid “TL” is applied with a certain force in a lid opening direction, the lid “TL” is lifted up. Thus, the lock base  16  of the lock unit  15  is moved up separating from the striker bar  48 . During this, the detecting arm  86  of the lid position sensing lever  85  is pivoted upward to the horizontal position due to the force of return spring  87 . 
     Thus, in the full open condition of the trunk lid “TL”, as has been mentioned hereinabove, the lock unit  15  assumes the release condition inducing OFF state of the lock switch  90 , the striker base  40  of the electric closing unit  20  assumes the draw action starting position (viz., uppermost position) of FIG. 8 inducing ON state of the draw condition detecting switch  80  and the detecting arm  86  of the lid position sensing lever  85  assumes the horizontal position inducing OFF state of the lid critical position sensing switch  88 . 
     In the following, description will be made on an advantageous operation of the electric lid closure of the present invention, which would be expected when the trunk open lever is manipulated under a condition wherein for example in winter the trunk lid “TL” has been frozen to the periphery  12  of the trunk room mouth portion  11 . 
     As is described hereinabove, in the full close condition of the trunk lid “TL”, the draw condition detecting switch  80  is OFF, the lid critical position sensing switch  88  is OFF and the lock switch  90  is ON. 
     When the trunk open lever is manipulated for the purpose of opening the trunk lid “TL”, the locking plate of the lock unit  15  unlocks the latch plate causing the latter to release the striker bar  48  inducing OFF state of the lock switch  90 . If now, due to the freezing between periphery of the trunk lid “TL” and the weather strip “WS” on the mouth of the trunk room “TR”, such release of the striker bar  48  from the latch plate fails to have the trunk lid “TL” sufficiently open, the lock base  16  of the lock unit  15  fails to be sufficiently lifted. In this case, the detecting arm  86  of the lid position sensing lever  85  fails to reach or pass by the critical position of FIG. 6C causing the lid critical position sensing switch  88  to keep OFF. Thus, even when the trunk lid “TL” is accidentally or carelessly pushed down to a position to bring about the engagement between the latch plate and the striker bar  48  inducing ON state of the lock switch  90 , the drawing unit  50  does not operate. That is, the trunk lid “TL” is prevented from taking an unexpected full close locked position. 
     As is described hereinabove, in accordance with the present invention, during a downward movement of the trunk lid “TL”, the striker  45  is slidably guided at one edge by the first vertical wall  22  of the support base  20   a.  That is, even when the striker bar  48  receives a force from the latch plate of the lock unit  15  from an oblique direction (see FIG.  3 ), a subsequent downward movement of the striker base  40  powered by the electric motor “M” is carried out in a vertical direction, which can minimize the degree by which the electric closing unit  20  of the electric lid closure “ELC” of the invention projects into the trunk room “TR”. Thus, the trunk room “TR” can be effectively used. 
     In the foregoing description, the description is made with respect to an arrangement wherein the lock unit  15  is mounted to the trunk lid “TL” and the electric closing unit  20  is mounted on the mouth portion of the trunk room “TR”. However, if desired, the lock unit  15  and the electric closing unit  20  may be mounted to the trunk room “TR” and the trunk lid “TL” respectively. 
     The entire contents of Japanese Patent Application P10-208303 (filed Jul. 23, 1998) are incorporated herein by reference. 
     Although the invention has been described above by reference to a certain embodiment of the invention, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. Modifications and variations of the embodiment described above will occur to those skilled in the art, in light of the above teachings.