Closure Latch

Abstract

A closure latch for releasably securing a vehicle closure in a closed position and adapted for operation by a remote actuator operatively connected to the latch, the latch including a lock bolt rotatable between latched and unlatched positions corresponding to the open and closed positions of the closure, a detent lever operatively connected to the remote actuator and rotatable thereby between a retracted position engaging a detent shoulder on the bolt and an extended position releasing the shoulder, a cam on the bolt, and a follower on the detent lever. After the detent lever is actuated to release the bolt, movement of the latter toward the unlatched position thereof initiates engagement between the cam and the follower which thereafter cooperate to positively restore the detent lever and connected remote actuator to their original positions in response to further movement of the bolt toward the unlatched position.

Description

This invention relates generally to closure latches and in particular to a remotely actuable closure latch incorporating means for positively returning the remote actuator from an active latch releasing position to an inactive position concurrently with opening of the closure.

With respect to the vehicle security and operating convenience, automotive designers have long appreciated the advantages of locating latch release controls for various vehicle closure members, such as the hood and the rear deck, within the interior of the vehicle body remote from the particular latch to be controlled. Typically, the release controls include a remote actuator in the form of a handle mounted interiorly of the vehicle body for manual manipulation between an inactive position and an active position and a motion transmitting member, such as the core element of a motion transmitting cable assembly, connected to the actuator and to a releasing element in the remote latch. When the actuator is moved to the active position the latch releases the closure, the actuator and motion transmitting member then being restored to their original positions by a spring. A closure latch according to this invention is particularly adapted for such remote actuation and incorporates means for positively or springlessly restoring the remote actuator after each release cycle.

Accordingly, the primary feature of this invention is that it provides a new and improved closure latch. Another feature of this invention is that it provides a new and improved closure latch of the type having a striker retaining latch bolt and a bolt retaining detent lever, the detent lever being particularly adapted for control by a remote actuator and the latch including means for positively returning the detent lever and the remote actuator to their initial positions after a release cycle has been initiated and while the closure remains open. Other features of this invention reside in the provision of a cam on the latch bolt and in the provision of a follower on the detent lever, the cam engaging the follower during releasing movement of the latch bolt to positively restore the detent lever and the remote actuator to their original positions corresponding to a latched condition of the latch bolt. A still further feature of this invention resides in the provision of blocking means on the latch bolt which cooperates with the follower on the detent lever in preventing operation of the remote latch operator when the closure is open .

These and other features of this invention will be readily apparent from the following specification and from the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partially broken away perspective view of the front portion of an automobile vehicle body having a closure latch according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along the plane indicated by lines 2--2 in FIG. 1 and showing the closure latch in a latched condition;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along the plane indicated by lines 3--3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken generally along the plane indicated by lines 4--4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 2 but showing the closure latch in an unlatched condition;

FIG. 6 is a view of a portion of FIG. 2 but showing the closure latch in an intermediate condition between the latched and unlatched conditions; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary partially broken away perspective view of a closure latch according to this invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown an automobile vehicle body designated generally 10 including a left front fender structure 12, a right front fender structure 14, a transverse grille 16 and a collision bumper member 18 extending between the fenders below the grille. The grille, bumper member, and fender structures cooperate with the vehicle body sheet metal below a windshield 20 in defining a conventional engine compartment, not shown, the engine compartment being adapted to be closed by a closure or hood 22 supported on the vehicle body by conventional hinge means, not shown, for pivotal movement about a lateral, horizontal axis between a closed position, FIG. 1, and an open position, not shown. The hood 22 is releasably maintained in the closed position by a closure latch according to this invention and designated generally 24, the latch being adapted for remote actuation from interiorly of the vehicle body.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the closure latch 24 includes a support member 26 having a flat web 28 with an integral inturned flange 30 extending around the periphery thereof. The web 28 has an elongated notch 31 therein and the flange 30 is terminated at surfaces 32 and 33 at opposite ends of the notch. A pair of mounting lugs 34 and 35 integral with flange 30 and another mounting lug 36 integral with the web 28 are disposed in a common plane perpendicular to the plane of web 28, lug 35 being extended to define a rigid arm 37. The mounting lugs 34, 35 and 36 are rigidly attached to a fixed structural member 38 of the vehicle body by a plurality of nut and bolt assemblies 40 with the web 28 projecting upwardly through an aperture 42 in the structural member. A generally U-shaped striker 44 having depending sides 45, FIG. 1, and an interconnecting side 46 is rigidly attached to the hood 22 such that during movement of the hood between the open and closed positions the interconnecting side 46 of the striker moves in and out of the notch 31 formed in the web 28.

A latch bolt 50 having a cam surface 56, a plurality of detent notches 58, a holding surface 59, a ramp surface 60, and a mouth defining a keeper surface 61 and a lip 62, is supported on a stud 63 rigidly mounted on web 28 for pivotal movement between a latched position, FIG. 2, wherein an edge of the bolt engages the surface 33 of the flange 30, and an unlatched position, FIG. 5, wherein cam surface 56 abuts the side of flange 30. A torsion spring 64 coiled about the stud 63 has one leg bearing on the latch bolt 50 and the other leg bearing on the flange 30 of the support member to thereby resiliently urge the latch bolt toward the unlatched position thereof.

The latch 24 further includes a latch bolt retaining means in the form of a detent lever 66 having a detent projection 68, a cam follower 70, and an inturned flange 72 with an aperture 74 therein. The detent lever 66 is supported on a stud 76 projecting rigidly from the web 28 for pivotal movement between a retracted position wherein the detent 68 engages one of the notches 58 on the bolt to prevent movement of the bolt toward the unlatched position thereof and an extended position wherein the detent is remote from the notches, the extended and retracted positions of the detent lever being shown respectively in broken and solid lines in FIG. 2. A relatively weak torsion spring 78 coiled about the stud 76 has one leg bearing on the detent lever and another leg bearing on the support member 26 to thereby resiliently urge the detent lever toward the retracted position thereof.

Operating means remote from the latch 24 are provided for enabling the vehicle operator to release the hood 22 for movement from the closed to the open position from interiorly of the vehicle body, the operating means including a motion transmitting core element 80 supported in a flexible conduit 82. The conduit 82 is rigidly attached at one end to the interior of the vehicle body by conventional means, not shown, and is rigidly attached at the other end to the arm 37 by a fastener 84, FIG. 2. The core element 80 slidably projects through the aperture 74 in the detent lever 66 and is restrained against withdrawal therefrom by a retainer 86. The opposite end of the core element has a remote actuator or handle, not shown, rigidly attached thereto so that movement of the remote actuator between an inactive position and an active position is accompanied by corresponding bodily movement of the core element 80.

In the closed and latched condition of the hood, FIG. 1, the side 46 of the striker 44 is situated in the notch 31 in the web 28 and is captured in the mouth portion of the latch bolt 50, the latter being in the latched position thereof and the detent lever being in the retracted position thereof. In the retracted position of the detent lever, the detent projection 68 engages one of the detent notches 58 on the latch bolt to prevent clockwise rotation of the latter, FIG. 2, so that the keeper surface 61 of the latch bolt, overlying side 46 of the striker, prevents movement of the hood from the closed to the open position.

To open the hood 22, the remote actuator is manually moved from the inactive to the active position to effect leftward bodily movement of the core element, FIG. 2. As the core element moves to the left, the retainer 86 engages the flange 72 on the detent lever to pivot the latter against spring 78 from the retracted to the extended position thereof and thereby release the latch bolt, the spring 78, however, having insufficient strength to restore both the detent lever and the core element to their initial positions. When the hood 22 is subsequently lifted toward the raised position, the side 46 of the striker 44 initiates clockwise pivotal movement of the latch bolt from the latched toward the unlatched position. As the latch bolt approaches the unlatched position the cam surface 56 thereon engages the follower 70 on the detent lever so that continued pivotal movement of the bolt toward the unlatched position is accompanied by simultaneous counterclockwise pivotal movement of the detent lever from the extended position back toward the retracted position. As the detent lever is rotated toward the retracted position, the flange 72 thereon engages the retainer to initiate rightward, FIG. 2, bodily movement of the core member 80 which movement, of course, functions to positively return the remote actuator from the active toward the inactive position thereof. Just before the latch bolt achieves the unlatched position, the follower 70 crosses from cam surface 56 onto holding surface 59, FIG. 5, at which instant the detent lever 66 achieves the retracted position wherein the remote actuator is repositioned in the inactive position thereof. Subsequent movement of the bolt 50 to the unlatched position thereof is, of course, independent of the detent lever so that in the unlatched position of the bolt 50 the holding surface 59 prevents pivotal movement of the detent lever and thus immobilizes the remote actuator.

In the opposite direction of hood movement, as the latter approaches the closed position, the side 46 of the striker engages the lip 62 of the latch bolt and initiates counterclockwise rotation, FIG. 6, of the latter from the unlatched toward the latched position during which rotation the holding surface 59 slides out of the path of motion of the follower 70 thus releasing the detent lever for clockwise pivotal movement. Further pivotal movement of the latch bolt toward the latched position corresponding to continued closing movement of the hood causes the detent projection 68 on the detent lever to slide up on the ramp 60 on the latch bolt, FIG. 6. As a result, the detent lever is pivoted clockwise through a relatively small angle against spring 78 while the flange 72 moves away from retainer 86 on the core element 80, the latter remaining stationary because the flange 72 is ineffective to exert a force on the core element directed leftwardly, FIG. 2. Subsequently, as the hood is finally lowered to the fully closed position, the ramp 60 slides out of engagement with the detent projection 68, the ramp being replaced by the detent notches 58 which pass successively past the projection until the closed position of the hood is achieved whereupon the spring 78 maintains the detent lever in the retracted position holding the latch bolt in the latched position until another hood release cycle is initiated by the remote actuator.

Claims

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a vehicle body having a closure supported thereon for movement between an open position and a closed position, a closure latch comprising, striker means rigidly affixed to one of said closure and said vehicle body, bolt means on the other of said vehicle body and said closure adapted for movement between a latched position retainingly engaging said striker means in the closed position of said closure and an unlatched position releasing said striker means to permit movement of said closure to the open position thereof; bolt retaining means, means supporting said bolt retaining means on said other of said vehicle body and said closure for movement between a retracted position engaging said bolt means and maintaining the latter in the latched position thereof and an extended position remote from said bolt means releasing the latter for movement to the unlatched position thereof, cam and follower means on said bolt means and on said retaining means responsive to movement of said bolt means from the latched to the unlatched position thereof to concurrently move said retaining means from the extended to the retracted position thereof, and blocking means on said bolt means and on said retaining means adapted for positively preventing movement of said retaining means from the retracted position when said bolt means is in the unlatched position.

2. In a vehicle body having a closure supported thereon for movement between an open position and a closed position, the combination comprising, striker means rigidly affixed to one of said vehicle body and said closure, bolt means, means supporting said bolt means on the other of said vehicle body and said closure for movement between a latched position retainingly engaging said striker means in the closed position of said closure and an unlatched position releasing said striker means to permit movement of said closure to the open position thereof, bolt retaining means, means supporting said retaining means on said other of said vehicle body and said closure for movement between a retracted position engaging said bolt means and maintaining the latter in the latched position thereof and an extended position remote from the bolt means releasing the latter for movement to the unlatched position thereof, a remote manual operator, means operatively connecting said remote operator to said retaining means for movement as a unit with the latter, means supporting said remote operator on said vehicle body for movement between an inactive position and an active position corresponding respectively to the retracted and the extended positions of said retaining means, means on said bolt means defining a cam movable as a unit with said bolt means, means on said retaining means defining a follower movable as a unit with said retaining means, said follower in the extended position of said retaining means being situated in the path of movement of said cam means for engagement on the latter during movement of said bolt means from the latched toward the unlatched position thereof, said cam thereafter cooperating with said follower in positively moving said retaining means from the extended to the retracted position thereof in response to continued movement of said bolt means toward the unlatched position thereof, and means on said bolt means defining a blocking surface adapted for engagement on said retaining means in the unlatched position of said bolt means for positively preventing movement of said retaining means from the retracted position when said bolt means is in the unlatched position.

3. In a vehicle body having a closure supported thereon for movement between an open position and a closed position, a closure latch comprising, striker means rigidly affixed to one of said vehicle body and said closure, a latch bolt having striker engaging means and a detent shoulder thereon, means supporting said latch bolt on the other of said vehicle body and said closure for pivotal movement between a latched position wherein said striker engaging means retainingly engages said striker means in the closure position of said closure and an unlatched position releasing said striker means to permit movement of said closure to the open position thereof, a detent lever, means supporting said detent lever on said other of said vehicle body and said closure for pivotal movement between a retracted position engaging said detent shoulder on said latch bolt in the latched position of the latter to maintain said latch bolt in the latched position thereof and an extended position remote from said latch bolt releasing the latter for movement to the unlatched position thereof, means on said latch bolt defining a cam movable as a unit with said bolt, and means on said detent lever defining a follower movable as a unit with said detent lever, said follower in the extended position of said detent lever being situated in the path of movement of said cam for engagement on the latter during movement of said bolt from the latched toward the unlatched position thereof, said cam thereafter cooperating with said follower in positively rotating said detent lever from the extended to the retracted position thereof in response to continued movement of said bolt toward the unlatched position thereof, and means defining a blocking surface on said bolt movable as a unit with the latter, said blocking surface in the unlatched position of said bolt engaging said follower to prevent movement of said detent lever from the retracted to the extended position thereof.

4. In a vehicle body having a closure supported thereon for movement between an open position and a closed position, the combination comprising, a striker, means rigidly supporting said striker on said closure, a latch bolt having a mouth portion and a detent shoulder, means supporting said latch bolt on said vehicle body for pivotal movement between a latched position wherein said mouth portion retainingly engages said striker in the closed position of said closure and an unlatched position releasing said striker to permit movement of said closure to the open position, a detent lever, means supporting said detent lever on said vehicle body for pivotal movement between a retracted position engaging said detent shoulder on said latch bolt in the latched position thereof to maintain said latch bolt to the latched position thereof and an extended position remote from said latch bolt releasing the latter for movement to the unlatched position thereof, a remote manual operator, means operatively connecting said remote operator to said detent lever for movement as a unit with the latter, means supporting said remote operator on said vehicle body for movement between an inactive position and an active position corresponding respectively to the retracted and the extended positions of said detent lever, means on said bolt defining a cam movable as a unit with said bolt, means on said detent lever defining a follower movable as a unit with said detent lever, said follower in the extended position of said detent lever being situated in the path of movement of said cam for engagement on the latter during movement of said bolt from the latched toward the unlatched position thereof, said cam thereafter cooperating with said follower in positively rotating said detent lever from the extended to the retracted position thereof in response to continued movement of said bolt toward the unlatched position thereof, and means defining a blocking surface on said bolt movable as a unit with the latter, said blocking surface in the unlatched position of said bolt engaging said follower to prevent movement of said detent lever from the retracted to the extended position thereof.