DE102019132507A1 - Method for manufacturing a motor vehicle locking device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for producing a motor vehicle locking device, in particular a motor vehicle lock, with at least one metallic base element (1) and a closing element (2, 3, 4). According to the invention, the base element (1) and / or the closing element (2, 3, 4) is subsequently reinforced at least locally after its shaping process.

Description

The invention relates to a method for producing a motor vehicle locking device, in particular a motor vehicle lock, with at least one metallic base element and a locking element.

The motor vehicle locking device mentioned above is generally a motor vehicle lock, i.e. a motor vehicle door lock, a motor vehicle tailgate lock, a motor vehicle front hood lock, a motor vehicle fuel filler flap lock, etc. Basically, however, this also includes a backrest lock in connection with a motor vehicle seat , a lock for a motor vehicle flap, etc. The term motor vehicle locking device is therefore to be interpreted broadly in the present case.

Motor vehicle door locks in particular are exposed to considerable attacking forces in the event of an accident or crash situations. These must generally be picked up by the motor vehicle locking device or the motor vehicle door lock in the example case and introduced into the motor vehicle body in order to prevent unintentional opening of an associated motor vehicle door in such a case. For this reason, safety-relevant components such as, in particular, the metallic base element and also the at least one metallic closing element are solid and often made of steel. Because tearing forces equivalent of up to three and a half tons and more must be absorbed at this point.

For this reason, in such a motor vehicle door lock, the lock case or a lock plate as a base element, as well as a rotary latch and at least one pawl as locking elements, are typically made of solid steel. In addition, additional components are often used to improve power transmission.

So is by the generic DE 10 2009 029 025 A1 a lock with a lock case is known in which a locking mechanism made up of a rotary latch and pawl additionally comprises at least one means for transmitting power to the lock case. The means in question is a bolt made of plastic or steel, which also controls a rotary latch query. The bolt represents a stop for the rotary latch, which limits the rotary movement of the rotary latch starting from an open position beyond the main detent position. As a result, the known motor vehicle lock should also be able to withstand sudden shock loads reliably.

The state of the art offers room for improvement. So the bolt additionally provided in the generic state of the art must be manufactured and installed. In addition, such additional elements pose the risk that the safe functioning of the motor vehicle locking device is impaired in extreme situations. In addition, the load on such motor vehicle locking devices is currently increasing. This can essentially be traced back to two aspects. First of all, the weight of automobiles has been increasing for years. In addition, the achievable speeds also increase, so that on the whole one can expect increased forces acting on the motor vehicle locking device, especially in the event of a crash. The invention aims to provide a remedy here overall.

The invention is based on the technical problem of further developing such a method for producing a motor vehicle locking device in such a way that the loads that can be absorbed can be increased in a simple manner without deformations that are problematic in terms of security.

To solve this technical problem, a generic method for producing a motor vehicle locking device is characterized in that the base element and / or the locking element is subsequently reinforced at least locally after its shaping process.

According to the invention, the base element or the closing element is reinforced after its shaping process. That is, first of all, the base element or the closing element is usually punched out of, for example, a metal plate or steel plate, if necessary reshaped and deep-drawn, before it is equipped with the at least local reinforcement according to the invention. In other words, the additional local reinforcement provided according to the invention does not change anything (any more) in the basic shape of the base element or closing element. This has the twofold advantage that at this point conventional and proven shaping processes such as the previously mentioned cutting, punching, deep drawing, forming, etc. can be used and this process is retained. This makes it possible to dispense with a large-area reinforcement, which under certain circumstances is weakened by a subsequent deformation process or may not allow deformation at all. Rather, the invention provides only local amplification. In principle, of course, a reinforcement covering the entire surface of the respective element can also be carried out after the shaping process.

However, it is preferred to work only with local reinforcements in order to keep the associated costs low and also to actually only reinforce the element in question locally where such reinforcement is required, as will be explained in more detail below in the description. The local reinforcement of the element can preferably take place intrinsically and / or extrinsically. An intrinsic reinforcement of the element is to be understood as one in which the internal properties of the metal element in question are at least locally influenced by the reinforcement process in such a way that subsequent reinforcement is observed.

The invention generally understands this to mean increasing the tensile strength (R _m , measured in N / mm ² ) of the element in question and / or its hardness (Vickers hardness). Both of the aforementioned physical properties can be intrinsically changed or increased in that the microstructure inside the metal undergoes a change.

In most cases, the procedure here (with the intrinsic reinforcement of the element) is that the respective element undergoes a combined heat treatment, which is made up of the individual steps of “hardening”, “quenching” and, if necessary, “tempering”. During hardening, the element in question is quickly heated up with a temperature gradient above 4K / min above the so-called austenitizing temperature. The element in question is then quenched, i.e. subjected to rapid cooling in the heated state. This is done using deterrents such as water, oil or air. Thereby gradients of deterrence in the range of more than 100 K / sec. set, so that the result is usually a hard structure of martensite, bainite or a mixture subsequently.

At this point you can also temper the element in which the associated workpiece is tempered after quenching at approx. 100 ° C or even more, i.e. a heat treatment at temperatures below the so-called transformation point (approx. 700 ° for steel approx C) is subjected. This allows internal stresses in the structure to be reduced. Usually, so-called tempering temperatures between 200 ° C and 500 ° C to 600 ° C are used, taking into account a tempering time between minutes and one or more hours.

In other words, the respective element and / or the reinforcement part is subjected in this context to a combined hardening and, if necessary, subsequent tempering process. This is generally done through a remuneration in which the element in question is subjected to the previously mentioned process steps “hardening”, “quenching” and, if necessary, “tempering” with the parameters given above. Suitable materials for such an intrinsic treatment of the element in question are, for example, heat-treatable steels, that is to say steels that are suitable for heat-treatment, as specified in detail by the DIN standard DIN EN 10083. In principle, heat-treatable non-ferrous metals or non-ferrous alloys such as titanium alloys can also be used as materials at this point.

In this context, it has also been found to be particularly preferred if the respective element and / or the reinforcement part is tempered to such an extent that its tensile strength (R _m ) and / or Vickers hardness (HV) increases to at least twice compared to the non-tempered state. In order to realize and implement this in detail, comparative tests are generally carried out by examining the respective element in the non-tempered state after its shaping process, for example with regard to the achievable tensile strength, and comparing it with the state after the tempering. In this respect, reference is made to DIN EN 10083, which was previously referred to.

As an alternative or in addition to the intrinsic local reinforcement of the element in question described in detail above, an extrinsic local reinforcement is also possible. In this case, the respective element is equipped with at least one reinforcement part welded on or welded on. Typically, the reinforcement part can be a reinforcement disk, which is mostly placed in the area of a recess.

Conventional welding methods can be used to achieve the local intrinsic reinforcement or to weld the additional reinforcement part on or on. Such methods have proven to be particularly favorable here, which ensure a local application of heat. For example, the respective element can be induction hardened and / or laser beam hardened and / or flame hardened. The additional attachment of the reinforcement part can also be realized and implemented in this way by an induction and / or laser beam and / or flame application.

The subject matter of the invention is also a motor vehicle locking device, preferably produced according to the method described above, which, after its shaping process, has at least local reinforcement of the base element or locking element. Typically, this can be done in such a way that the Base element is reinforced in the area of its axle mounting for the closing element. The invention is based on the knowledge that in the area of such an axle mounting, especially in the event of a crash, the greatest forces are transmitted from the closing element to the base element, so that the area of the axle mounting has to be particularly reinforced.

As a result, a method for producing a motor vehicle locking device and an associated motor vehicle locking device are described and made available, which have an at least local reinforcement of the relevant base element or locking element as their object. In this way, the motor vehicle locking device is made capable of withstanding the highest loads, especially in the event of a crash. All of this succeeds without the upstream shaping process of the base element or closing element having to undergo a fundamental change. Rather, the at least local reinforcement takes place subsequently.

In general, the element concerned is tempered, with a tensile strength that is at least twice as high as that observed in the non-tempered state. In addition, the achievable hardness of the element (Vickers hardness) can be increased significantly, with values for the Vickers hardness of generally more than 300 HV being observed at this point after the tempering process. The increased tensile strength and hardness compared to the non-tempered state can be used on the one hand to use the relevant elements with unchanged dimensions in a motor vehicle lock, so that the motor vehicle lock can better withstand higher loads overall, or dimensions, in particular thicknesses, of the elements can be reduced so that a weight reduction of the elements is achieved while maintaining or further increasing the resistance of the motor vehicle lock to loads.

In addition to the possibility of using an additionally welded-on or welded-on reinforcement part and in this way to ensure the desired mechanical reinforcement of the element in question, the invention particularly relies on local reinforcement by intrinsic treatment of the element in question. This is usually achieved through heat treatment and, in particular, a tempering treatment. The heat treatment typically uses non-contact methods for applying heat. Induction treatment, laser treatment or flame treatment have proven to be beneficial here.

In the course of an induction treatment, the element in question (base element or closing element) can, in the simplest case, be acted upon by an alternating current-operated coil, which causes eddy currents in the element in question by induction and thus a local heat treatment. Alternatively or additionally, laser beam treatment can also be used. In general, lasers that emit in the infrared (IR) are used here, such as CO ₂ lasers, Nd: YAG lasers or the like. In principle, the element in question can also be flame-hardened by directing a flame onto the element locally. The quenching that usually takes place afterwards is carried out with water, oil or air. This can then be followed by a starting process, as has already been described above.

As a result of this intrinsic local treatment of the element, its metal structure is changed, with a view to increased tensile strength and increased hardness. All of this succeeds in a strikingly simple manner, taking into account reduced costs compared to the state of the art. This is where the main advantages can be seen.

• 1 eine erfindungsgemäße Kraftfahrzeug-Schließeinrichtung in Gestalt eines Kraftfahrzeug-Schlosses mit den hieran angreifenden Kräften im Crashfall und
• 2 den Gegenstand nach der 1 auszugsweise im Bereich eines Basiselementes bzw. einer Schlossplatte mit den hier zu erwartenden Verformungen, die durch die erfindungsgemäß durchgeführte Verstärkung verhindert werden.

The invention is explained in more detail below with the aid of a drawing showing only one exemplary embodiment; show it:

• 1 a motor vehicle locking device according to the invention in the form of a motor vehicle lock with the forces acting on it in the event of a crash and
• 2 the subject after the 1 excerpts in the area of a base element or a lock plate with the deformations to be expected here, which are prevented by the reinforcement carried out according to the invention.

A motor vehicle locking device is shown in the figures. The motor vehicle locking device is not restrictively a motor vehicle lock which has at least one metallic base element 1 and a metallic locking element 2 , 3rd , 4th is equipped. In the case of the base element 1 In the context of the exemplary embodiment, it is a plate-shaped lock plate or a lock case 1 . In contrast, the closing elements 2 , 3rd , 4th as a rotary latch on the one hand 2 and on the other hand two pawls 3rd , 4th educated.

With the two pawls 3rd , 4th On the one hand, it is a convenience latch 3rd and on the other hand the comfort handle 3rd locking latch 4th . Instead of the 1 Two ratchet lock shown can of course also be a Single lock with just one pawl 3rd , 4th are used, but this is not shown. In any case, one recognizes in the 1 one on a lock holder 5 in particular in the event of a crash, the force F (F-action) which acts as a reaction to the rotary latch on the one hand on the associated hinge pin 2 and on the other hand the comfort handle 3rd Reaction forces attack F-reaction as outlined.

These reaction forces F-reaction lead to the lock plate in the example 1 in the area one in the 2 indicated recess 6th the lock plate 1 for receiving the associated and on the one hand the rotary latch 2 and on the other hand the comfort handle 3rd bearing pivot pin indicated deformations can be observed here. To keep these deformations as small as possible or the lock plate 1 To reinforce in the example case in this area, the invention proposes various basic procedures.

So can the recess 6th in the context of a variant with a welded or welded on and in the 2 merely indicated reinforcement part 7th be equipped. With this reinforcement part 7th it is one in the area of the recess 6th placed reinforcement washer 7th . The reinforcement part or the reinforcement disc 7th can for example by laser beam or otherwise on or on the lock plate 1 be welded on.

Alternatively or additionally, the element in question, ie in the example the base element or the lock plate 1 can also be intrinsically reinforced, as was explained in detail in the introduction to the description. This is where the lock plate 1 in the example, locally remunerated in the area of the recess 6th . This is done in the area of the recess 6th a laser beam in the example on the area around the recess 6th focused around and learns at this point about the manufacture of the lock case 1 used heat treatable steel a remuneration. The area of the recess is used for this purpose 6th initially heated, as this introduces has already been described. A deterrent then takes place in this area and finally becomes the lock case 1 possibly still left on.

As a result, the base element in question 1 respectively the lock case 1 in the area of the recess 6th have a tensile strength and / or Vickers hardness which clearly exceed comparable values in the non-tempered state, as has already been described in the introduction.

List of reference symbols

1

Base element

1

Lock plate

1

Lock case

2

Rotary latch

3

Comfort latch

3, 4

Pawl

4th

Locking pawl

2, 3, 4

Closing element

5

Lock holder

6th

Recess

7th

Reinforcement part

7th

Reinforcement washer

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent literature cited

• DE 102009029025 A1 [0005]

Claims (10)

Method for producing a motor vehicle locking device, in particular a motor vehicle lock, with at least one metallic base element (1) and one locking element (2, 3, 4), characterized in that the base element (1) and / or the locking element (2 , 3, 4) is subsequently reinforced at least locally after its shaping process. Procedure according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the local reinforcement of the element (1; 2, 3, 4) takes place intrinsically and / or extrinsically. Procedure according to Claim 2 , characterized in that the respective element (1; 2, 3, 4) is equipped with at least one reinforcement part (7) welded on or on. Procedure according to Claim 3 , characterized in that the reinforcement part (7) is designed as a reinforcement disc (7) placed in the region of a recess (6). Method according to one of the Claims 2 to 4th , characterized in that the respective element (1; 2, 3, 4) is induction and / or laser beam and / or flame hardened. Method according to one of the Claims 1 to 5 , characterized in that the respective element (1; 2, 3, 4) and / or the reinforcement part (7) is made from a heat-treatable steel and / or a heat-treatable non-ferrous alloy such as titanium. Method according to one of the Claims 1 to 6th , characterized in that the respective element (1; 2, 3, 4) and / or the reinforcement part (7) is subjected to a combined hardening and subsequent tempering process. Method according to one of the Claims 1 to 7th , characterized in that the respective element (1; 2, 3, 4) and / or the reinforcement part (7) is remunerated to such an extent that its tensile strength (R _m ) and / or Vickers hardness (HV) is at least twice that of the unrefined condition increases. Motor vehicle locking device, preferably produced by a method according to one of the Claims 1 to 8th , in particular motor vehicle lock, with at least one metallic base element (1) and one locking element (2, 3, 4), characterized in that the base element (1) and / or the locking element (2, 3, 4) after a shaping process is subsequently reinforced at least locally. Establishment according to Claim 9 , characterized in that the base element (1) is reinforced in the area of its axle mounting for the closing element (2, 3, 4).

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