POWER DRIVEN VEHICLE LATCH WITH NON-UNIFORM GEARS

摘要

A vehicle latch is disclosed herein, the vehicle latch, having: a first gear with a first gear pitch radius that reduces from a first gear tooth to an ending gear tooth; a second gear with a second gear pitch radius that increases from a first gear tooth to an ending gear tooth, the second gear being rotatably mounted to the latch for movement about a second gear axis; and wherein rotation of the second gear causes a claw of the latch to move from a first position to a second position, the second position corresponding to a closed state of the latch.

主权项

1. A vehicle latch, comprising:
a first gear having a first plurality of gear teeth with a first involute form gear profile that follows a scroll profile with a first gear pitch radius that reduces from a first gear tooth to an ending gear tooth of the first plurality of gear teeth, the first gear being rotatably mounted to the latch for movement about a first gear axis; a second gear having a second plurality of gear teeth with a second involute form gear profile that follows a scroll profile with a second gear pitch radius that increases from a first gear tooth to an ending gear tooth of the second plurality of gear teeth, the second gear being rotatably mounted to the latch for movement about a second gear axis, wherein the second plurality of gear teeth meshingly engage the first plurality of gear teeth along a path defined between the first gear teeth of the first gear and the second gear and the ending gear teeth of the first gear and the second gear as first gear first gear rotates about the first axis and the second gear rotates about the second axis, wherein a torque applied to the first gear when the first gear tooth of the first gear engages the first gear tooth of the second gear in order to rotate the first gear about the first axis is lower than a torque applied to the first gear when the ending gear tooth of the first gear engages the ending gear tooth of the second gear in order to rotate the first gear about the first axis; and wherein rotation of the second gear causes a claw of the latch to move from a first position to a second position, the second position corresponding to a closed state of the latch.