Lock for a vehicle door

• US 6,474,704 B1
• Filed: 11/23/1999
• Issued: 11/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mannesmann VDO AG (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Mannesmann VDO AG (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Wagner, Torsten, Rathmann, Klaus
• Primary Examiner(s): LUU, TUYET PHUONG PHAM
• Application Number:
  US09/367,987
• Time in Patent Office: 1,078 Days
• Field of Search: 292/216, 292/201, 292/DIG.23, 292/DIG.43, 746/61, 746/65.B
• US Class Current: 292/201
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 77/02 for accident situations
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 81/14 operating on bolt detents, e.g. for unlatching the bolt
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 292/23 Vehicle door latches
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/1047 Closure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/1082 Motor

Abstract

Lock for a movable arrangement, such as a door, rear flap or the like of a vehicle, having an actuating drive (10) for the drive of a component, in particular a detent pawl (4), of the lock, wherein, for the direct or indirect drive of the component, a further actuating drive (13) for the component is provided.

Claims

1. A lock for a movable door or rear flap of a vehicle, having an actuating drive (10), which does not operate manually, for driving a component of the lock, wherein for driving the component, a further actuating drive (13), which likewise does not operate manually, for driving the component is provided;

and wherein a gear is arranged between the first actuating drive (10) and the component or between the further actuating drive (13) and the component, and the gears are step-down gears, and the gear between the further actuating drive (13) and the component has a higher step-down ratio than the gear between the first actuating drive (10) and the component.

2. The lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the two gears are freewheeling with respect to each other.

3. The lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the two actuating drives (10, 13) are designed as constructionally identical electric motors.

4. The lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first actuating drive is actuated to effect an opening procedure, and only in event of the first actuating drive being defective is the further actuating drive actuable.

5. A lock for a movable door or rear flap of a vehicle, having an actuating drive (10), which does not operate manually, for driving a component of the lock, wherein for driving the component, a further actuating drive (13), which likewise does not operate manually, for driving the component is provided, wherein the component is a detent pawl (4) or a rotary latch (2).

6. A lock for a movable door or rear flap of a vehicle, having an actuating drive (10), which does not operate manually, for driving a component of the lock, wherein for driving the component, a further actuating drive (13), which likewise does not operate manually, for driving the component is provided, wherein whenever the first actuating drive is switched on, at the same time the further actuating drive is also always switched on.

7. The lock as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first actuating drive is a solenoid with an actuating element and linear movement of the actuating element is transmitted directly to the detent pawl.

8. A lock for a door of a vehicle, comprising a latch for locking the door, a first electrically motorized drive and a second electrically motorized drive for releasing the latch to unlock the door, wherein the first motorized drive comprises a first electric motor and the second motorized drive comprises a second electric motor, the lock further comprising a gear train interconnecting both of said first and said second motors to a latch release mechanism of the lock, and wherein said gear train provides a relatively fast low-torque driving of the latch release mechanism upon energization of said first motor, said gear train providing a relatively slow high-torque driving of the latch release mechanism upon energization of said second motor;

and wherein the gear train has step-down gears, and the step-down gears between the second motorized drive (13) and the release mechanism has a higher step-down ratio than the step-down gears between the first motorized drive (10) and the release mechanism.