Vehicle door power lock actuator
AssigneeTrimark Corporation
InventorsJason J. Kraus, Eric Wickstrom
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A power lock actuator is provided for a door lock mechanism of a vehicle. The actuator includes an electric motor, a linear drive, and a slip clutch between the motor and the linear drive. The clutch includes a dual-lobe pinion for pulsed energy transmission from the motor to the linear drive, to provide soft starts and stops, which extend the life of the drive assembly 26. The linear drive includes a screw with multiple, discontinuous male thread segments to minimize friction with female threads on the extendible and retractable carriage, thereby minimizing wear between the screw and the carriage.
Claims17
A door lock actuator for locking and unlocking a vehicle door lock, comprising:
- a reversible electric motor with a rotatable output shaft;
- a linear drive movable between extended and retracted positions and connected to the door lock;
- a centrifugal clutch disposed between the motor and the linear drive to move the linear drive to the extended and retracted positions after the motor is turned on to lock and unlock the door;
- and
- the centrifugal clutch having a rotatable dual-lobe drive to minimize start and stop loads on the linear drive.
A door lock actuator for locking and unlocking a door lock, comprising:
- an electric motor with a rotatable output shaft;
- a linear drive having opposite ends threadably coupled so as to extend and retract relative to one another, with one end being operatively connected to the motor and the other end being connected to the door lock;
- one of the ends having a shaft with a plurality of male thread segments;
- the other end having female threads;
- and
- the male thread segments each extending radially less than 360° around the shaft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.