JPH0520545B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION The present invention relates to a back door latch device for a motor vehicle.

BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY In general, a back door latch device for an automobile includes a claw having an engagement groove into which a striker provided on the vehicle body engages when the door is closed, and a claw of the claw that engages with the claw to engage the striker. The detent levers that hold the detent levers are rotatably attached to the base plate, and the base plate is attached and fixed to the back door. Normally, the back door can be opened by rotating the detent lever and disengaging it from the claw of the claw by operating the handle of the 57-31474).

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the above-mentioned backward latch device,
If you use a claw that has only one pawl that the detent lever should engage, for example, when the back door is closed, the detent lever will not fully engage the pawl and the detent lever will move toward the tip of the pawl. If you start the vehicle without noticing that the tent lever is in a slightly engaged state (hereinafter referred to as the "half-engaged state"), the day tent lever may become attached to the claw part due to vibrations of the vehicle body while driving. There is a danger that the back door may open accidentally.

Therefore, by using a two-stage engagement type claw having a full-latching pawl and a half-latching pawl, the above-mentioned dangers can be prevented and driving safety can be improved.

However, if a two-stage engagement type claw is used, for example, if the remote open lever is operated from the driver's seat in an attempt to open the back door, the detent lever, which has been disengaged from the full latch claw, will move to the half latch claw. In this case, the back door cannot be opened unless the detent lever is first moved beyond the half-latch claw by unlatching it again, making operation cumbersome. It has drawbacks.

In order to eliminate this drawback, we installed a push-out mechanism made of a spring or rubber that forcibly pushes the back door in the opening direction to a position beyond the half-latching claw when the detent lever disengages from the full-latching claw. However, when such a push-out mechanism is provided, when the back door is closed, the repulsive force of the push-out mechanism made of a spring or rubber acts as a resistance to the operating force in the door closing direction, making it difficult to close the door. The problem is that the door becomes heavier and the sound of opening and closing the door becomes considerably louder. Furthermore, if the spring, rubber, etc. deteriorate and the repulsive force decreases, the extrusion mechanism will lose its function as described above.

The present invention utilizes a two-stage engagement claw to ensure improved safety, and the detent lever never engages with the half-latching pawl during unlatching operation without using a push-out mechanism. It is an object of the present invention to provide a latch device that can reliably open a back door at the same time.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides a two-stage engagement claw having a full-latching claw portion and a half-latching claw portion, and a claw that engages with the claw portion of the claw to maintain the latched state of the claw. In a back door latch device in which a detent lever and a detent lever are each rotatably attached to a base plate, an auxiliary lever and an operating lever are each rotatably attached to the respective shafts of the claw and detent lever, and the auxiliary lever is rotatably attached to a base plate. A one-way engagement means with the claw is formed so that it rotates integrally with the claw when the latch is rotated in the latch direction, and the operating lever engages the detent lever with the pawl of the claw by rotating in one direction. A one-way engagement means with the detent lever is formed so as to rotate the detent lever integrally in a direction to release the engagement, and a rotational force is applied in a direction to engage the auxiliary lever with the one-way engagement means with the claw. and a spring that applies rotational force to the operation lever in a direction away from the one-way engagement means with the detent lever, and the detent lever is closed to the full latch position where it should be engaged with the full latch pawl. The detent lever is engaged with the half latch pawl through the one-way engagement means between the operating lever and the detent lever. The auxiliary lever is characterized in that the auxiliary lever is provided with an engaging portion that holds the lever in the locked position.

Function In the above, the striker is fitted into the engagement groove of the claw and the detent lever is engaged with the full-latching pawl of the claw, that is, in the fully-latched state, that is, in the fully-closed state of the back door, the operating lever is moved against the urging force of the spring. When the detent lever is rotated, the detent lever is rotated almost integrally with the operating lever due to the one-way engagement means with the detent lever, and is disengaged from the full-latching pawl portion of the claw. Then, the claw rotates in the unlatching direction due to the pull-out force of the striker based on the reaction force of the door stop of the back door, and the auxiliary lever also rotates following the rotation of the claw due to the force of the spring, and its locking part is operated. The lever is located on the return direction rotation trajectory due to the spring biasing force of the lever, and even if the operating force of the operating lever is released, the operating lever contacts the engaging portion of the auxiliary lever and cannot return to its original position. Therefore, the one-way engagement means with the detent lever holds the detent lever in a position where it is not engaged with the half latch pawl.

Also, when the back door is closed, if the tip of the detent lever is slightly engaged with the tip of the claw for full latch of the claw, the claw and auxiliary lever are in the full latch position.
Since the locking part of the auxiliary lever is located off the rotation path of the operating lever, the operating lever is in the same position as in the fully latched state due to the biasing force of the spring, and the detent lever is in one direction with respect to the operating lever. Since it is not constrained by the engaging means, if the half-engaged state with the full-latching pawl is dislodged due to vehicle body vibration, etc., and the claw attempts to rotate in the unlatching direction, the detent lever engages with the half-latching pawl of the claw. This restricts the opening operation of the back door.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In Fig. 1, reference numeral 1 indicates a claw having an engagement groove 1a into which a striker 16 fixed to the backdoor is fitted, and reference numeral 2 indicates a claw that engages with the full-latching and full-latching claws 1b and 1c of the claw 1. The claw 1 and the detent lever 2 are attached to a base plate 7 with shafts 5 and 6.
are rotatably attached to each other. 8 is a rotating force in the unlatching direction (the first
A spring 9 applies a rotational force (clockwise rotational force in FIG. 1) in the direction of engaging the detent lever 2 with the claws 1b, 1c of the claw 1. It is a spring that

Reference numeral 3 denotes an auxiliary lever rotatably attached to the shaft 5, which is the center of rotation of the claw 1, and the auxiliary lever 3 is attached to a protrusion of the claw 1 when the claw 1 is rotated in the latching direction (clockwise in FIG. 1). It is configured to rotate integrally when pushed by the claw 1d, and is biased by a spring 10 with rotational force in the direction in which it is pressed against the protrusion 1d of the claw 1, that is, in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. ing. Reference numeral 11 denotes a stopper for restraining the rotation of the auxiliary lever 3. When the claw 1 is unlatched (rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 1), the auxiliary lever 3 is held back by the spring 10 until it hits the stopper 11. However, after the auxiliary lever 3 hits the stopper 11, only the blind claw 1 of the auxiliary lever 3 is configured to further rotate in the unlatching direction by the spring 8, resulting in an unlatched state.

Reference numeral 4 designates an operating lever, and the operating lever 4 is mounted so as to be rotatable on a shaft 6, which is the center of rotation of the detent lever 2. In Fig. 1, the rotational force is applied in the clockwise direction, and the rotation is restrained by the stopper 12 while the detent lever 2 is fully engaged with the full-latching claw portion 1b of the claw 1. The detent lever 2 is provided with a protrusion 2a that almost abuts the operating lever 4, and the operating lever 4 is moved by the spring 10 from the fully latched state as shown in the first figure.
1 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1, the detent lever 2 is rotated almost integrally with the operating lever 4 via the protrusion 2a, and the full-latching pawl 1b of the claw 1 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. It is designed so that it can be released from the lock and placed in an unlatched state.

The operating lever 4 is connected to a remote operating opener lever (provided at a position where it can be operated in the driver's seat, but not shown) at the A section, for example, by a connecting member such as a cable,
Also, it is connected to the key lever or handle of the back door at part B, so that by operating the opener lever, operating the key, or operating the handle, the operating lever 4 can be rotated as described above and brought into the unlatched state. It's getting old.

The operating lever 4 is formed with an engaging portion 4a, the auxiliary lever 3 is formed with an engaging portion 3a, and the claw 1 is formed with an engaging portion 4a.
When the detent lever 2 is in the full latch position, the engaging part 4a and the engaging part 3a do not interfere with each other, but when the operation lever 4 is operated in the unlatching direction, the detent lever 2 is disengaged from the full latch claw part 1b of the claw 1 and the claw 1 is moved. As soon as the auxiliary lever 3 begins to rotate in the unlatching direction, the locking portion 3a of the auxiliary lever 3 enters a position opposite to the engaging portion 4a of the operating lever 4 that is being rotated in the unlatching direction, and the operating lever 4
Release the operating force in the unlatching direction of the operating lever 4.
Even if the detent lever 2 tries to return to the direction in which it contacts the stopper 12 by the spring force of the spring 10, the engaging portion 4a contacts the locking portion 3a and cannot return. By contacting the operating lever 4, it is held in the unlatching direction rotation position.

13 is the striker fitting groove 7 of the base plate 7
This is a wedge bumper that is slidably fitted onto a shaft 14 that is substantially parallel to the direction a and is supported by a spring 15 to press in one direction. The striker 16 hits the inclined surface 13a of the wedge bumper 13 and slides it against the spring 15, and the spring reaction force of the wedge bumper 13 acts in the direction of pushing the striker 16 into the engagement groove 1a of the claw 1, resulting in a fully latched state. This prevents the striker 16 from shaking.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a single spring 10 whose both ends are hooked to the auxiliary lever 3 and the operating lever 4 is used as a spring to apply rotational force to the auxiliary lever 3 and the operating lever 4, respectively. Although an example is shown, both levers 3 and 4 may be energized by independent springs, and for the sake of convenience, the auxiliary lever 3 is energized by a spring 10a in the diagrams for explaining the operation below. The operating lever 4 is biased by a spring 10b.

The operation of the latch device according to the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.

Similar to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 shows the engagement groove 1a of the claw 1.
The figure shows the back door fully closed state in which the striker 16 is engaged and the detent lever 2 is fully engaged with the full latch claw 1b of the claw 1. In this state, the auxiliary lever 3 is engaged with the protrusion 1d of the claw 1. The operating lever 4 is pressed against the stopper 12 by the spring 10b, and the projection 2a of the detent lever 2 is in contact with or close to contact with the operating lever 4. , and the locking portion 3a of the auxiliary lever 3 is located at a position deviated from the rotation locus of the engaging portion 4a of the operating lever 4.

From the fully closed state of the back door shown in FIG. 2, the opener lever is operated, for example, from the driver's seat, and the operating lever 4 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 2 against the spring 10b.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the protrusion 2a is pushed by the operating lever 4, the detent lever 2 rotates against the spring 9, and is disengaged from the full latch claw 1b of the claw 1, and the claw 1 is released from the spring 8. The unlatching direction (third
(counterclockwise in the figure), and the auxiliary lever 3 follows the rotation of the claw 1 in the unlatching direction.
is rotated by the spring force of the spring 10a until it comes into contact with the stopper 11 as shown by the solid line in FIG.

In this state, the locking portion 3a of the auxiliary lever 3 is located on the rotation locus in the return direction due to the spring force of the spring 10b of the operating lever 4, and the operating force of the operating lever 4 is released and the operating lever 4 is moved by the spring 10b.
Even if the operating lever 4 attempts to rotate back in the direction of contacting the stopper 12 with the spring force, the engaging portion 4a of the operating lever 4
The detent lever 2 comes into contact with the locking part 3a of the auxiliary lever 3 and is prevented from rotating in the return direction, and the detent lever 2 also has a spring 9 due to the contact of the protrusion 2a with the operating lever 4.
The detent lever 2 is held in a position where it does not engage with the half-latching claw 1c of the claw 1, and the claw 1 is securely moved to the unlatched position shown by the chain line in FIG. rotate,
The back door is in the open state, and the opener lever is
We have solved the conventional problem of the detent lever, which is disengaged from the full-latching pawl after the first operation, meshes with the half-latching pawl and cannot be opened unless the detent lever is operated again. This can be reliably prevented without using an extrusion mechanism.

When the back door is closed, the striker 16 enters the fitting groove 7a of the base plate 7, and the engagement groove 1 of the claw 1 is in the unlatched position shown by the chain line in FIG.
The claw 1 presses against one inner edge of the lever 1a and rotates while being fitted into the engagement groove 1a, and while the claw 1 is rotating in the latch direction, the protrusion 1d engages with the auxiliary lever 3.
At this time, the auxiliary lever 3 is rotated against the spring force of the spring 10a to lock the locking portion 3 of the auxiliary lever 3.
a is released from contact with the engaging portion 4a of the operating lever 4, and the operating lever 4 is rotated by the spring force of the spring 10b to the position where it contacts the stopper 12, and the detent lever 2 is also rotated by the spring force of the spring 9. The claw 1 is rotated by force in a direction to hit the outer peripheral surface of the claw 1 and engages with the full-latching claw portion 1b, resulting in a fully-latched state as shown in FIG. 2, that is, a fully closed state of the back door.

When the back door is closed as described above, if the closing force of the back door is insufficient, the detent lever 2 should be slightly in contact with the tip of the full-latching pawl 1b of the claw 1, as shown in Fig. 5. It may be in a half-hanging state to maintain balance. In this half-latched state, the claw 1 is in the fully-latched position and the back door is also apparently fully closed, so if you start the vehicle without noticing it, the detent lever 2 may become half-latched due to body vibrations while driving. The latch may come off and the back door may open, which is extremely dangerous.

However, in the present invention, in the half-latched state, as shown in FIG. Further, the operating lever 4 is in the normal position where it contacts the stopper 12, and only the detent lever 2 is lifted up to the extent of the normal engagement depth of the full latch claw portion 1b, so that the protrusion 2a is in contact with the operating lever 4. Since the detent lever 2 is at a position separated by the above-mentioned floating distance, when the detent lever 2 is partially engaged with the full-latching claw portion 1b due to vibrations while traveling and the claw 1 is rotated in the unlatching direction, the operating lever 4 It slides on the outer peripheral edge of the claw 1 by the spring force of the spring 9 without being restrained by the half latch claw 1c, and engages with the half latch claw 1c.
Therefore, the rotation of the claw 1 in the unlatching direction is restrained to reliably prevent the back door from opening, thereby improving safety.

In the above embodiment, the striker 16 is attached to the back door side and the base plate 7 is attached to the vehicle body side, but conversely, the striker 16 is attached to the vehicle body side.
It goes without saying that even if the base plate 7 is provided on the back door side, the same function as described above can be achieved.

Further, the one-way engagement means between the claw 1 and the auxiliary lever 3 and the one-way engagement means between the detent lever 2 and the operating lever 4 are not limited to the illustrated projections 1d and 2a, but also include the auxiliary lever 3 and the operating lever. One-way engaging means of any structure may be employed within the scope of the present invention, such as providing protrusions on the claw 1 and the detent lever 2 to engage with the claw 1 and the detent lever 2, respectively.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the two-stage engaging claw is used as the claw of the door latch device of the back door, and the two-stage engaging claw is used to prevent the opening/closing of the back door while the vehicle is running when the detent lever is partially engaged. After fully satisfying the safety functions of 2.
The troublesome operation of opening the back door, which is a disadvantage of using a stepped engagement type claw, can be reliably solved by an extremely simple structure without using a back door pushing mechanism, and it is possible to solve various problems in the case of using a back door pushing mechanism. This method has no drawbacks and can reduce costs, which can bring about great practical effects.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 to 5 are diagrams explaining the operation of the device of the present invention, and FIGS. XX sectional view in the figure, Figure 3 is a front view of the main part showing the state immediately after the unlatching operation, Figure 4 is a front view of the main part showing the state in the middle of the unlatching operation, and Fig. 5 is a front view of the main part showing the state of the detent lever being partially engaged. It is. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Claw, 1a...Engagement groove, 1b, 1c...Claw part, 1d...Protrusion part, 2...Detent lever, 2a
...Protrusion, 3...Auxiliary lever, 3a...Locking part, 4...
Operation lever, 4a... engaging portion, 5, 6... shaft, 7... base plate, 8, 9, 10... spring, 1
1, 12...stopper, 16...strika.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A claw having an engagement groove into which a striker fits and engages when the back door is closed, and an engagement groove of the claw that engages with either a full latch claw or a half latch claw formed on the claw. In a latch device for a back door, a detent lever is rotatably attached to a base plate to maintain a latched state in which a striker is fitted into the detent lever. The auxiliary lever and the operating lever are each rotatably mounted, and the auxiliary lever is formed with a one-way engagement means with the claw so that it rotates integrally with the claw when the claw is rotated in the direction of the claw, and the operating lever is rotated in one direction. A one-way engagement means with the detent lever is formed so as to integrally rotate the detent lever in the direction of disengaging the claw portion of the claw, and the auxiliary lever is rotated in one direction with the claw. A spring that applies a rotational force in a direction to engage the engagement means and a spring that applies a rotational force in a direction in which the operating lever is separated from the one-way engagement means with the detent lever, and the detent lever is Unless the claw is located at the full-latching position where it should be engaged with the full-latching pawl, the claw comes into contact with the operating lever to restrict rotation of the operating lever, thereby providing one-way engagement means between the operating lever and the detent lever. A back latch device for an automobile, characterized in that the auxiliary lever is provided with a locking portion that holds the detent lever in a position where it does not engage with the half latch pawl.