Vehicular latch with direct locking of pawl

Abstract

A vehicle latch is provided having a ratchet, a primary pawl, an auxiliary ratchet and a secondary pawl, and further including a gear that is movable to a secondary pawl locking position wherein the gear directly blocks movement of the secondary pawl and locks the secondary pawl in an auxiliary ratchet holding position to prevent premature or unintended opening of the latch.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A vehicle latch, comprising:
 a ratchet movable between a striker capture position whereat the ratchet is positioned to retain a striker and a striker release position whereat the ratchet is positioned to release the striker, wherein the ratchet is biased towards the striker release position;   a pawl movable between a ratchet holding position whereat the pawl is positioned to hold the ratchet in the striker capture position and a ratchet release position whereat the pawl permits the movement of the ratchet out of the striker capture position, wherein the pawl is biased towards the ratchet holding position; and   a gear driven by an electric motor into a pawl locking position in which a gear locking surface on the gear directly blocks movement of a pawl locking surface on the pawl so that the gear directly holds the pawl in the ratchet holding position.   
     
     
         2 . The vehicle latch of  claim 1 , wherein the gear is operatively connected to the pawl such that rotation of the gear by the electric motor to a reset position causes movement of the pawl toward the ratchet holding position. 
     
     
         3 . The vehicle latch of  claim 2 , wherein the gear has a first gear drive surface that is engageable directly with a pawl drive surface on the pawl, and wherein rotation of the gear by the electric motor to a pawl release position drives the pawl to the ratchet release position. 
     
     
         4 . The vehicle latch of  claim 3 , further comprising a gear biasing member that biases the gear towards the pawl locking position from the pawl release position and from the reset position. 
     
     
         5 . The vehicle latch of  claim 4 , wherein the pawl locking position is between the pawl release position and the reset position. 
     
     
         6 . The vehicle latch of  claim 5 , further comprising a reset position sensor positioned to detect the presence of the gear in the reset position. 
     
     
         7 . The vehicle latch of  claim 6 , further comprising a pawl locking position sensor positioned to detect the presence of the gear in the pawl locking position. 
     
     
         8 . The vehicle latch of  claim 7 , further comprising a controller that receives signals from the reset position sensor that are indicative of whether the gear reaches the reset position, and wherein the controller is operatively connected to the electric motor, wherein the controller is configured to:
 a) selectively cause the electric motor to drive the gear towards the reset position; and   b) notify a driver of the vehicle of a problem in the event that the gear does not reach the reset position after a selected period of time passes after step a) is initiated.   
     
     
         9 . The vehicle latch of  claim 7 , further comprising a controller that receives signals from the pawl locking position sensor that are indicative of whether the gear reaches the pawl locking position, and wherein the controller is operatively connected to the electric motor, wherein the controller is configured to:
 a) selectively cause movement of the gear towards the pawl locking position; and   b) carry out at least one action in the event that the gear does not reach the pawl locking position after a selected period of time passes after step a) is initiated, wherein the at least one action is selected from the group of actions consisting of: notifying a driver of the vehicle of a problem with the vehicle latch; and causing the electric motor to drive the gear towards the pawl locking position.   
     
     
         10 . A vehicle latch, comprising:
 a ratchet movable between a striker capture position whereat the ratchet is positioned to retain a striker and a striker release position whereat the ratchet is positioned to release the striker, wherein the ratchet is biased towards the striker release position;   a pawl movable between a ratchet holding position wherein the pawl is positioned to hold the ratchet in the striker capture position and a ratchet release position wherein the pawl permits the movement of the ratchet out of the striker capture position, wherein the pawl is biased towards the ratchet holding position;   a gear that is operatively connected to the pawl, wherein the gear is rotatable to cause movement of the pawl towards the ratchet holding position, wherein the gear is rotatable to cause movement of the pawl towards the ratchet release position, wherein the gear is rotatable to a pawl locking position to lock the pawl in the ratchet holding position, and wherein the gear is rotatable to a reset position during which the gear causes movement of the pawl to the ratchet holding position; and   a reset position sensor positioned to detect the presence of the gear in the reset position.   
     
     
         11 . The vehicle latch of  claim 10 , wherein rotation of the gear to the reset position causes the gear to move the pawl to the ratchet holding position. 
     
     
         12 . The vehicle latch of  claim 11 , further comprising a controller that receives signals from the reset position sensor that are indicative of whether the gear reaches the reset position, and wherein the controller is operatively connected to the gear, wherein the controller is configured to:
 a) selectively drive the gear towards the reset position; and   b) notify a driver of the vehicle of a problem in the event that the gear does not reach the reset position after a selected period of time passes after step a) is initiated.   
     
     
         13 . The vehicle latch of  claim 12 , further comprising a motor, wherein the controller is operatively connected to the motor and the motor is operatively connected to the gear, and wherein the controller is configured to selectively drive the gear towards the reset position via actuation of the motor. 
     
     
         14 . The vehicle latch of  claim 10 , further comprising a pawl locking position sensor positioned to detect the presence of the gear in the pawl locking position. 
     
     
         15 . The vehicle latch of  claim 14 , further comprising a controller that receives signals from the pawl locking position sensor that are indicative of whether the gear reaches the pawl locking position, and wherein the controller is operatively connected to the gear, wherein the controller is configured to:
 a) selectively cause movement of the gear towards the pawl locking position; and   b) carry out at least one action in the event that the gear does not reach the pawl locking position after a selected period of time passes after step a) is initiated, wherein the at least one action is selected from the group of actions consisting of: notifying a driver of the vehicle of a problem with the vehicle latch; and driving the gear towards the pawl locking position.   
     
     
         16 . The vehicle latch of  claim 15 , further comprising a motor, wherein the controller is operatively connected to the motor and the motor that is operatively connected to the gear, and wherein the controller is configured to selectively cause movement of the gear towards the pawl locking position by cutting power to the motor, and to drive the gear towards the primary pawl by sending power to the motor. 
     
     
         17 . A vehicle latch, comprising:
 a housing;   a ratchet mounted to the housing and movable between a striker capture position whereat the ratchet is positioned to retain a striker and a striker release position whereat the ratchet is positioned to release the striker, wherein the ratchet is biased towards the striker release position;   a pawl mounted to the housing and movable between a ratchet holding position whereat the pawl is positioned to hold the ratchet in the striker capture position and a ratchet release position whereat the pawl permits the movement of the ratchet out of the striker capture position, wherein the pawl is biased towards the ratchet holding position; and   a gear mounted to the housing for rotational movement about a gear axis, wherein the gear is movable to a first position in which the gear blocks movement of the pawl out of the ratchet holding position, wherein the gear is movable to a second position in which the gear holds the primary pawl in the ratchet releasing position, and wherein the gear is movable to a third position in which the gear allows the primary pawl to move toward its ratchet holding position.   
     
     
         18 . The vehicle latch of  claim 17 , further comprises:
 a reset position sensor positioned to detect the presence of the gear in the third position;   a pawl locking position sensor positioned to detect the presence of the gear in the first position;   a motor that is operatively connected to the gear; and   a controller that is operatively connected to the motor, wherein the controller receives signals from the reset position sensor that are indicative of whether the gear reaches the third position, and signals from the pawl locking position sensor that are indicative of whether the gear reaches the first position, wherein the controller is configured to:   a) selectively operate the motor to drive the gear towards the third position; and   b) notify a driver of the vehicle of a problem in the event that the gear does not reach the third position after a selected period of time passes after step a) is initiated,   and wherein the controller is configured to:   c) selectively cut power to the motor to cause movement of the gear towards the first position; and   d) carry out at least one action in the event that the gear does not reach the first position after a selected period of time passes after step a) is initiated, wherein the at least one action is selected from the group of actions consisting of: notifying a driver of the vehicle of a problem with the vehicle latch; and drive the gear via the motor towards the first position.