The motor is generally an electric motor. Motor vehicle units that are operated by the motor or electric motor can include, for instance, mirrors, seats, steering columns, windows, etc. It is particularly preferable to activate and operate motor vehicle door units with the aid of a motor or an electric motor. Such units include for instance, the already mentioned external mirrors or also other elements inside or on the motor vehicle door that can be adjusted with the aid of the motor. Particularly preferably the motor or electric motor is used for activating and/or actuating a closing/opening device in a motor vehicle door lock.
In this context, the drive component in question is usually an external drive component, operating therefore normally the separately located closing/opening device via a Bowden cable or another connection means. Such a closing/opening device generally serves to move the motor vehicle door, for instance, from an intermediate closed position to a fully closed position by means of the motor. For this purpose, the operator only has to move the respective motor vehicle door into the intermediate closed position or intermediate locked position. The door then moves automatically into the fully closed position or fully locked position with the aid of the motor of the external drive unit.
In addition, also opening units for the motor vehicle door lock that are activated by a motor are known. These ensure that the motor vehicle door is opened by a motor. Such closing/opening devices are predominantly used in expensive cars and primarily serve to increase the level of comfort. Safety aspects are also increasingly important. As in motor vehicles with, for instance, assisted closing, it is always guaranteed that the respective motor vehicle door is in its fully closed position or fully locked position in which the passengers of the motor vehicle enjoy maximum protection. An example of such a closing/opening device is disclosed in DE 199 38 378 C2. The object of DE 100 48 051 A1 is an assisted closing device.
Assisted closing devices are also known from practical application and are generally installed inside the motor vehicle door. Increasingly this presents the problem of insulating the interior against noises produced by the motor or electric motor or guaranteeing an extremely low noise operation of the closing/opening device. Practical applications already make use of decoupled threaded elements or foam underlay for installing the motor.
The type-defining DE 101 31 590 A1 describes a similar embodiment in which the motor is simply installed on fixing hooks, whilst at the same time being decoupled by rubber insulation elements. In this arrangement, the electric motor is positioned in a mainly pot-like housing containing a receiving opening. The housing contains at least a spring-loaded fixing element containing a thermoplastic elastomer. The known motor is, however, used for driving a fan and not for actuating a closing/opening device.
There is, however, the danger that as a result of actual contact between the motor and the car body via respective fastening elements, motor noises can enter the motor vehicle door, a motor vehicle door module and thus the car interior as structure-borne noises, which can be regarded as annoying. The invention aims to remedy this situation.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds