Patent ID: 8303003

Claim:
A lock mechanism between a moving part of a vehicle, the moving part being a door ( 40 ) or hinged lid on the vehicle, and a stationary part of a vehicle, namely, the vehicle body ( 50 ), which consists of a lock ( 30 ) on one part ( 40 ) of the vehicle and a closing part ( 51 ) on the other part ( 50 ) of the vehicle, where the lock ( 30 ) comprises a rotatable supported ( 11 ) catch ( 10 ) and a swiveling ( 21 ) latch ( 20 ) that is spring-tensioned ( 22 ) towards the catch ( 10 ), the catch ( 10 ) has a recess ( 19 ) for the closing part ( 51 ), a periphery having a profile ( 15 ) with a prelocking stop notch ( 13 ), and a main stop notch ( 14 ) for a locking catch ( 23 ) on the latch ( 20 ), and can be moved among at least three rotational positions ( 10 . 1 to 10 . 3 ), namely, an open position ( 10 . 1 ) of the catch ( 10 ), in which the closing part ( 51 ) can be moved in or out ( 52 ) of the recess ( 19 ), the latch ( 20 ) is supported by its locking catch on an initial section ( 16 ) of the profile ( 15 ) that is located before the main stop notch ( 14 ) and the prelocking stop notch ( 13 ), and the door ( 40 ) can move freely, a prelocking position ( 10 . 2 ), in which the closing part ( 51 ) is captively grasped by the recess ( 19 ), the locking catch ( 21 ) of the latch ( 20 ) engages the prelocking stop notch ( 13 ) in the profile ( 15 ) from behind, and the door ( 40 ) is in a preclosing position, and a main lock-in position ( 10 . 3 ), in which the closing part ( 51 ) of the catch ( 10 ) has been carried farther along, the locking catch ( 51 ) of the latch ( 20 ) engages the main stop notch ( 14 ) of the profile ( 15 ) from behind, and the door ( 40 ) has been brought into its final closed position, wherein the catch ( 10 ) has a larger radial distance ( 46 , 47 ), relative to the axis of rotation ( 11 ), at the prelocking stop notch ( 13 ) than the radial distance ( 47 , 48 ) at the main stop notch ( 14 ), so that at the periphery of the catch ( 10 ) there is a step profile ( 15 ), wherein due to the difference ( 46 , 47 ; 47 , 48 ) in the radial distance, the latch ( 20 ) assumes three different swivel positions ( 20 . 1 - 20 . 3 ) in the three rotational positions ( 10 . 1 - 10 . 3 ) of the catch ( 10 ), namely, a resting position ( 20 . 1 ) in the open position ( 10 . 1 ) of the catch ( 10 ), an initial operating position ( 20 . 2 ) in the prelocking position ( 10 . 2 ), and an end operating position ( 20 . 3 ) in the main lock-in position of the catch ( 10 ), wherein the latch ( 20 ) directly engages a sensor ( 35 ) and is the only actuator of the sensor ( 35 ) so that in response to actuation the sensor determines the actual one of the three swivel positions ( 20 . 1 - 20 . 3 ) of the latch ( 20 ) and signals a control unit, wherein, based on the signals from the sensor, the control unit determines the actual rotational position ( 10 . 1 - 10 . 3 ) of the catch ( 10 ) and carries out a certain function in the vehicle.