JP3433371B2 - Electric closing device of opening and closing body - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention forcibly closes an opening / closing body to a fully closed state by electric drive means such as a motor when the opening / closing body is closed from an open state to a half-latch state. The present invention relates to an electric closing device for an opening / closing body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional device of this type, for example,
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-4754. In this device, the pivot plate is fixedly fitted to the shaft of the latch in the lock device arranged on the opening / closing body side, the lever is pivotally fitted, and the latch is separated from the striker provided on the vehicle body side from the open position, By moving to a half-latch position that barely engages the striker, the motor is actuated and the lever forces the latch through the pivot plate from the half-latch position to the full-latch position where it fully engages the striker. The door is closed from the half-door to the fully-closed state.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional electric closing device for the opening / closing body, the latch and the rotating plate can be freely rotated without being obstructed by the lever except when the electric closing device is activated. In order to enable movement, a required play corresponding to the amount of rotation between the open position of the latch and the half-latch position is provided between the lever and the rotating plate, and when the electric closing device operates, From the time the motor starts to the time the lever rotates the latch, the lever idles by the amount of play described above, so the latch rotates toward the full-latch position after detecting the half-latch position. There is a problem that a time loss required for idling occurs before the start of the operation, and the opening / closing body cannot be closed quickly.

In view of the problems of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, an object of the present invention is to reduce the time loss of the closing operation of the opening / closing body by electric power so that the opening / closing body can be closed quickly and surely. Another object of the present invention is to provide an electric closing device for an opening / closing body, which is capable of improving certainty of operation, safety and durability.

[0005]

According to the present invention, the above problems can be solved as follows. (1) The latch pivotally attached to the lock device provided on either the vehicle body side or the opening / closing body side moves from the open position where it is separated from the striker provided on the other side to the half-latch position where it barely engages with the striker. In the electric closing device for the opening / closing body, the electric drive device is actuated to forcibly move the latch to the full latch position where the latch is completely engaged with the striker and locked by the locking plate. , A pivoting lever fixed to a shaft of the latch so as to rotate integrally with the latch, and a pivot shaft perpendicular to the shaft of the latch or having a required inclination angle, are pivotally attached to the lock device by a drive device. An arm that can be reciprocally rotated between an operating position and a non-operating position and a connecting shaft that is parallel to the pivot axis of the arm are connected to the tip of the arm. The pushing portion formed on the portion abuts on the side edge of the tip of the turning lever, and when the arm is turned from the non-operating position to the operating position, the rotating lever is latched together with the half-latch position to the full-latch position. Can be moved to an engaging position where it can be pushed up to a release position where the pushing portion is separated from the side edge of the tip end of the rotating lever in a direction substantially orthogonal to the plate surface of the tip end, and the latch is from the open position. When it is within the range up to the position immediately before the half-latch position, the push lever contacts the plate surface of the tip of the rotary lever to prevent movement toward the engagement position. When the latch release operation means of the opening / closing body is operated, an open lever that moves the connect lever and the locking plate toward their respective release positions and an attach lever that connects the connect lever toward the engagement position. It is assumed that and a biasing means for.

(2) In the above item (1), the connect lever has a hook-shaped bent piece extending to the other side surface of the housing through an opening formed in a part of the housing of the lock device. An open lever arranged on the other side surface side of the housing is engaged with the bent piece.

(3) In the above item (1) or (2), when the axis of the latch and the pivot of the arm form an inclination angle other than a right angle, the tip of the turning lever is the pivot of the arm. Fold it so that it is almost parallel.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION FIGS. 1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 6 to 13 show operating modes of respective parts thereof. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, and particularly FIG. 2, this electric closing device for an opening / closing body is a back door (B) which is an opening / closing body pivotably attached to an upper rear end of a vehicle body (A) of an automobile. It is incorporated in a lock device (C) provided at the lower end of the.

The lock device (C) is a latch housed in a housing (1) fixed to the lower end of the back door (B).
It is provided with (2) and a locking plate (5). latch
(2) is fixed to a shaft (3) pivotally supported by the housing (1) and has a meshing groove (2a) which can be engaged and disengaged with a striker (4) provided on a vehicle body (A) of an automobile, and a locking plate. It has two step parts (2b) and (2c) which can be engaged with (5). The locking plate (5) is pivotally supported by the housing (1) with a shaft (6) and is bent upward with a claw part (5a) which can be engaged with and disengaged from the step parts (2b) and (2c) of the latch (2). And an abutting portion (5b). In FIG. 5, the latch (2) is always urged in the counterclockwise direction and the locking plate (5) is always urged in the clockwise direction by springs (not shown).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, a pivot lever (7) is fixed to the upper end of the shaft (3) of the latch (2), and the latch (2) and the pivot lever (7) are connected to each other. Are designed to rotate together. The turning lever (7) has a substantially disc-shaped base.
Tip (7) extending rearward from (7a) through neck (7b)
c) and the tip (7c) has an arm (15b) described later.
It is bent with respect to the base portion (7a) so as to be substantially parallel to the pivot axis (15a) of the. Further, the left side edge of the tip portion (7c) forms an abutting edge (7d) which is in a substantially arcuate shape in a plan view and abuts with a pushing portion (17a) of the connect lever (17) described later.

When the back door (B) is open, the latch (2) and the turning lever (7) are located at the open position as shown in FIG. 11 which is separated from the striker (4). When the back door (B) is closed to a so-called half-door state, the striker (4) barely engages with the engagement groove (2a), and the step portion
The locking plate (5) is engaged with the claw portion (5a) of the locking plate (5) to prevent it from rotating toward the open position, and is located at the half-latch position as shown in FIG. When closed, the striker (4) is completely engaged with the engagement groove (2a), and the claw portion (5) of the locking plate (5) is engaged with the stepped portion (2c).
It is located at the full latch position as shown in FIG. 4 in which a) is engaged and rotation in the open position direction is prevented.

A base plate (8) facing upward and forming a part of the housing (1) is fixed to the housing (1), and a locking device is attached to the base plate (8).
A control mechanism section (D) of (C) is provided.

The control mechanism section (D) has a motor (9), which is an electric drive device capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions, a motor type actuator (10) for locking and unlocking operation, and a shaft (11a), which is a base plate ( 8) A lock / unlock lever (11) pivotally supported by the actuator (10) and connected to a drive lever (10a) of the actuator (10) and movable to a lock position and an unlock position, and a support for the lock / unlock lever (11). Sub-lever (12) slidably supported on part (11b)
An open lever (13) pivotally supported by the base plate (8) by the shaft (11a) and connected to a latch release operation means (not shown) of the back door (B), and a back door (13).
The base plate (8) has a key lever (14) connected to a key cylinder (not shown) provided in (B) and a pivot (15a) that is at a right angle to the shaft (3) of the latch (2) or has a required inclination angle. ), And the sector gear (15) meshed with the pinion (9a) of the reduction gear connected to the motor (9) and the sector gear (15) are integrated with the lower part of the pivot shaft (15a). It has an extending arm (15b) and a connect lever (17) connected to the lower end of the arm (15b) by a connecting shaft (16) parallel to the shaft (15a) of the arm (15b).

The motor (9), the key lever (14), the sector gear (15) and its part arm (15b), and the connect lever (17) are arranged on the front side of the base plate (8). In addition, other actuators (10), locking / unlocking lever (11), sub-lever (12), open lever (13), etc.
It is arranged on the rear surface side of the base plate (8).

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 10, the open lever (13) has a shaft at the lower end of the first arm portion (13a) extending downward.
(13b) has one end of the sub-lever (12) rotatably connected to it and has a second arm portion (13c) extending in the direction of the connect lever (17), and has a latch release operation means such as a door handle. By operation, it is rotated counterclockwise from the position shown in FIG. 6 to the latch release position shown in FIG. The second arm portion (13c) is formed with a fan-shaped elongated hole (13) that widens as it moves away from the shaft (11a).

When the back door (B) is closed and the locking / unlocking lever (11) is in the unlocked position shown in FIG. 3, the sub-lever (12) is released by the latch release operation of the open lever (13).
By linearly moving to the left from the position shown in Fig. 6, the pushing portion (12a) formed at the other end abuts the abutting portion (5b) of the locking plate (5), thereby releasing the locking plate (5). Activate it to disengage the latch (2),
(B) can be opened.

The motor (9) is closed from the state where the back door (B) is open, and the latch (2) reaches the half-latch position, which is a half-latch detection switch (not shown).
When the latch (2) reaches the full-latch position and the full-latch detection switch (not shown) detects this, the latch (2) is controlled to rotate in the normal direction.

Sector gear (15) and its arm (15b)
Is normally in the non-actuated position shown in FIGS. 1, 6, 7, 9, and 10, and is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 6 etc. by the forward rotation of the motor (9). As a result, the latch (2) reaches the full-latch position and the motor (9) is rotated in the reverse direction so that the latch (2) is rotated back to the original non-operating position and stopped there.

In the connect lever (17), the pushing portion (17a) formed at the right end is brought into contact with the abutting edge (7d) of the rotating lever (7), so that the arm (15b) is in the non-operating position. Turning to the operating position allows the turning lever (7) together with the latch (2) to be pushed from the half-latch position to the full-latch position.
And the pushing portion (17a) is separated from the contact edge (7d) of the rotating lever (7) in a direction substantially orthogonal to the plate surface of the tip portion (7b) of the rotating lever (7). It is movable to the release position shown in FIGS. 6, 9, and 10, and is normally urged toward the engagement position by the urging force of the spring (18) which is urging means, and the latch ( When 2) is within the range from the open position to the position immediately before the half-latch position, the pusher (17a)
Alternatively, the lower edge abuts the upper surface of the tip portion (7b) of the rotating lever (7) at a substantially right angle to prevent movement toward the engaging position.

At the upper edge of the right end of the connect lever (17), the front shape extends downward to the upper right and faces downward. A rearwardly provided stepped portion (17b) bent in a hook shape passes through the substantially rectangular opening (19) formed in the base plate (8) and the long hole (13d) of the open lever (13) to form the base plate ( A bent piece (17c) is arranged so as to extend to the rear of 8).

The lower edge of the second arm portion (13c) of the open lever (13) engages below the stepped portion (17b) of the bent piece (17c), and the open lever (13) releases the latch. When rotated to the position, the bending piece (17c) is flipped up by the second arm portion (13c), and the connect lever (17) resists the biasing force of the spring (18). It can be rotated to the release position.

Also, a bent piece (17c) of the connect lever (17)
Engage the open lever (13) through the opening (19) in the base plate (8), so that the connect lever (1
7) and the open lever (13) are hard to come off from each other, and the connect lever (17) is guided by the edge of the open lever (13) or the opening (19) so that the connect lever (17) moves smoothly and surely. be able to.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described mainly with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. 6 and 11 show a state in which the back door (B) is open and the latch (2) is located in the open position. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the sector gear (15) is in the non-actuated position, and the connecting lever (17) has the pushing portion (17a) at the tip portion (7) of the rotating lever (7).
It rides on the upper surface of b), is prevented from moving toward the engagement position, and is held at the release position.

From this state, the back door (B) is moved in the closing direction, the striker (4) enters the engaging groove (2c) of the latch (2), and the latch (2) is located just before the half-latch position. When it is rotated to the position of, the contact edge (7d) of the rotation lever (7) that rotates together with the latch (2) passes immediately below the push-motion section (17a) of the connect lever (17), As a result, the connecting lever (17) is rotated to the release position by the urging force of the spring (18), and the pushing portion (17a) of the connecting lever (17) is rotated. It is located in the rotation locus of the contact edge (7d) of (7).

After that, when the latch (2) is rotated to the half-latch position, the half-latch detection switch is actuated and the motor (9) is normally rotated, whereby the sector gear (15) and its arm ( 15b) is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 7 from the non-actuated position to the actuated position.

Along with this, the connect lever (17) is moved substantially linearly to the right from the state shown in FIG. 7 to the state shown in FIG. 8, and is rotated by its pushing portion (17a). lever
Push the contact edge (7d) of (7) to rotate the lever (7) and latch.
(2) is forcibly rotated from the half-latch position to the full-latch position to close the back door (B) from the half-door state to the fully-closed state.

When the latch (2) is rotated to the full latch position, the claw portion (5a) of the locking plate (5) engages with the stepped portion (2c) of the latch (2) and the full latch detection switch is activated. Then, the motor (9) is reversely rotated and the sector gear (15) is returned to the original non-actuated position shown in FIG. Accordingly, the connect lever (17) is
(17a) moves away from the contact edge (7d) of the rotating lever (7),
The same position as shown in FIG. 9 is restored.

When the open lever (13) is rotated to the latch release position as shown in FIG. 10 by the operation of the latch release operation means in the fully closed state of the back door (B) as described above, The bent piece (17c) of the connect lever (17) is flipped up by the 2 arm part (13c), and the connect lever (17) is rotated to the release position against the biasing force of the spring (18). At the same time, the sub-lever (12) is moved leftward by the first arm portion (13a), and the locking plate (5) is released by the pushing portion (12a) as shown in FIG. Move freely toward the open position without being hindered by either the connect lever (17) or the locking plate (5), and the back door (B)
Opens instantly.

Even when the open lever (13) is rotated to the latch release position as shown in FIG. 10 by the operation of the latch release operation means during the closing operation between the states shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. , As above, connect lever (17)
Is rotated to the release position, the locking plate (5) is released, and the restraint of the latch (2) is immediately released, so that the back door (B) can be opened quickly. Therefore, when a foreign object is caught in the back door, the back door can be opened immediately even while the motor (9) is being driven.

[0030]

According to the invention described in claim 1, the connect lever is moved to the engagement position by the urging force of the urging means immediately before the latch reaches the half-latch position from the open position. Immediately after the latch reaches the half-latch position and the electric drive device is activated, the connecting lever pushing part pushes the turning lever to quickly move the latch to the full-latch position. Since it can be rotated, there is almost no time loss in the closing operation of the opening / closing body, and the opening / closing body can be closed quickly.

(B) The axis of the latch and the pivot of the arm are formed at a right angle or at a required inclination angle, and the connect lever contacts the plate surface of the rotating lever at the above angle. As a result, the movement in the engagement position direction is prevented, so that even if the connect lever or the turning lever is deformed or an assembly error occurs, the connect lever may come off from the plate surface of the turning lever. There are few, and it can operate reliably.

(C) Further, during the closing operation of the opening / closing body,
When the latch release operation means of the opening / closing body is operated, the connect lever and the locking plate are moved to the release position by the open lever, the restraint of the latch is immediately released, and the opening / closing body can be freely opened and closed. Therefore, even if something gets caught between the opening and closing body and the vehicle body during the closing operation of the opening and closing body, the opening and closing body can be opened immediately by operating the latch release operation means, which is safe. Is.

(D) According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the bent piece of the connect lever engages with the open lever through the opening of the housing, the connect lever and the open lever are less likely to come off from each other, and the connect lever is also prevented. Is guided by the open lever or the edge of the opening,
The connect lever can move smoothly and surely.

(E) According to the third aspect of the invention, the connecting lever is bent so that the tip end portion of the turning lever is substantially parallel to the axis of the arm so that the connecting lever is a plate of the tip end portion of the turning lever. The surface and the side edge of the tip end portion always come into contact with each other at a right angle, the risk of disengagement or galling is reduced, and the durability is improved. Further, by bending the tip of the rotary lever in this way, the angle between the axis of the latch and the pivot of the arm can be set to any value, which increases the degree of freedom in design.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a state in which a motor is removed in an embodiment of an electric closing device for an opening / closing body of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is likewise a side view showing a state in which a motor is mounted.

FIG. 3 is likewise a rear view.

FIG. 4 is a view seen from an arrow IV in FIG.

5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a main part of a control mechanism unit in a door open state.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the main part of the control mechanism section showing the first operating state.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the main part of the control mechanism section showing a second operating state.

FIG. 9 is a front view of a main part of a control mechanism section showing a third operating state.

FIG. 10 is a front view of the main part of the control mechanism section showing a fourth operating state.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a main part of a lock mechanism section in a door open state.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a main part of a lock mechanism section in a half-latch state.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a main part of a lock mechanism section in a door opening operation state.

[Explanation of symbols]

(A) Body (B) Back door (C) Lock device (D) Control mechanism section (1) Housing (2) Latch (2a) Engagement groove (2b) (2c) Step (3) axis (4) Strike (5) Locking plate (5a) Claw (5b) Contact part (6) axis (7) Rotating lever (7a) Base (7b) Tip (7c) Neck (7d) Contact edge (8) Base plate (9) Motor (electric drive device) (9a) Pinion (10) Actuator (10a) Drive lever (11) Locking and unlocking lever (11a) axis (11b) Support (12) Sub lever (12a) Pushing part (13) Open lever (13a) First arm part (13b) axis (13c) Second arm part (13d) long hole (14) Key lever (15) Sector gear (15a) Axis (15b) Arm (16) Connection shaft (17) Connect lever (17a) Pushing part (17b) Step (17c) Bent piece (18) Spring (biasing means) (19) Open

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) E05B 65/12-65/42

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A half-latch position in which a latch pivotally mounted on a locking device provided on either the vehicle body side or the opening / closing body side barely engages with the striker from an open position separated from a striker provided on the other side. To move the electric drive to operate the electric drive so that the latch is completely engaged with the striker and is forcibly moved to the full latch position where it is locked to the locking plate. In the device, a rotation lever fixed to a shaft of the latch so as to rotate integrally with the latch, and a pivot shaft perpendicular to the shaft of the latch or having a required inclination angle are pivotally attached to the locking device to drive the device. The arm is connected to the tip of the arm by means of an arm that can be reciprocally rotated between an operating position and a non-operating position by a device, and a connecting shaft that is parallel to the pivot axis of the arm. The push-moving portion formed on the tip of the rotary lever comes into contact with the side edge of the tip of the rotary lever to rotate the arm from the non-operating position to the operating position. From the position to the full-latch position, and to the release position where the pushing portion is separated from the side edge of the tip of the rotary lever in a direction substantially orthogonal to the plate surface of the tip. When is within the range from the open position to the position immediately before the half-latch position, the pushing portion comes into contact with the plate surface of the tip portion of the turning lever to prevent movement in the engaging position direction. By operating the connect lever and the latch release operating means of the opening and closing body,
An electric motor for an opening / closing body, comprising: an open lever for moving the connect lever and the locking plate toward respective release positions; and an urging means for urging the connect lever toward the engaging position. Closure device. 2. The connect lever has a hook-shaped bent piece extending to the other side surface of the housing through an opening formed in a part of the housing of the locking device, and the bent piece has the housing. The electric closing device for an opening / closing body according to claim 1, wherein an open lever arranged on the other side surface of the opening is engaged. 3. The latch lever and the pivot axis of the arm form an inclination angle other than a right angle, and the tip of the turning lever is bent so as to be substantially parallel to the pivot axis of the arm. Alternatively, the electric closing device for the opening / closing body according to the item 2.