Door lock, in particular motor vehicle door lock
A door lock, in particular a motor vehicle door lock. This lock is provided with a locking mechanism substantially formed by a rotary latch and at least one pawl. A lever chain is also provided for directly or indirectly acting on the locking mechanism. The lever chain has at least one actuation lever and an actuated lever optionally acted upon by the actuation lever. In addition, at least one damping element is created for the lever chain. According to the invention, the damping element is arranged on the actuation lever and/or the actuated lever.
1. A door lock comprising:
a locking mechanism including a rotary latch and at least one pawl,
a lever chain for directly or indirectly acting on the locking mechanism, the lever chain having at least one actuation lever and an actuated lever acted upon by the actuation lever in an actuation direction, and
a damping element for the lever chain, wherein the damping element is arranged on the actuated lever,
wherein:
the actuated lever includes a contact surface,
the damping element includes a damping surface that extends from the actuated lever a first distance from the contact surface in the actuation direction, and the damping surface and the contact surface form a first stepped configuration,
the actuation lever includes a contact stop positioned for engaging the contact surface and a damping stop positioned for engaging the damping surface, and the contact stop and the damping stop form a second stepped configuration,
the contact stop is a second distance from the damping stop in the actuation direction, and
the first distance is larger than the second distance such that in actuation contact between the actuation lever and the actuated lever, the first and second stepped configuration engage such that the contact stop on the actuation lever is disengaged from the contact surface on the actuated lever until the damping stop engages the damping surface to deform the damping element in the actuation direction.
2. The door lock according to claim 1 , wherein the damping element is formed having a cavity and the cavity is compressed in the actuation direction during actuation contact between the actuation lever and the actuated lever.
3. The door lock according to claim 2 , wherein the cavity is concavely curved with respect to the actuation direction.
4. The door lock according to claim 2 , wherein the cavity forms part of a buffer pocket.
5. The door lock according to claim 1 , wherein the damping element is arranged at an edge of the actuated lever.
6. The door lock according to claim 1 , wherein the damping element projects beyond the contact surface counter to the actuation direction.
7. The door lock according to claim 1 , wherein the damping element is part of a plastic casing which completely or partially encloses a metal core of the actuated lever.
8. The door lock according to claim 1 , wherein the damping element is made of a plastic material that elastically deforms.
9. The door lock according to claim 2 , wherein the cavity is defined between two longitudinal walls of the damping element.
10. The door lock according to claim 1 , wherein the contact surface is a metallic contact surface.