U.S. patent number 3,583,742 [Application Number 04/853,037] was granted by the patent office on 1971-06-08 for door latch mechanism.
This patent grant is currently assigned to General Motors Corporation. Invention is credited to Stanley Kwasiborski, Jr..
United States Patent |
3,583,742 |
Kwasiborski, Jr. |
June 8, 1971 |
DOOR LATCH MECHANISM
Abstract
A door latch mechanism for use on a vehicle door provided with a
closure latch having a detent movable between holding and released
positions with respect to a latch bolt. The door latch is provided
with an inside latch release remote handle connected to a remote
actuator lever for releasing the detent and an outside pushbutton
latch release means connected by a coupling including an
intermittent lever to the detent for releasing the detent. An
inside operator, such as a garnish button, which is movable to
three positions is provided to control the operation of the closure
latch. In the first position of the garnish button, both the inside
latch release remote handle and the outside pushbutton latch
release means are operably connected to the detent, in the second
position, the inside latch release remote handle is operably
disconnected from the detent and, in the third position, both the
inside latch release remote handle and the outside pushbutton latch
release means are operatively disconnected from the detent.
Inventors: |
Kwasiborski, Jr.; Stanley
(Hazel Park, MI) |
Assignee: |
General Motors Corporation
(Detroit, MI)
|
Family
ID: |
25314861 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/853,037 |
Filed: |
August 26, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
292/216;
292/347 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E05B
85/243 (20130101); Y10T 292/1047 (20150401); Y10T
292/82 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
E05B
65/32 (20060101); E05c 003/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;292/216,336.3,280,198,347,210 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Leppink; James A.
Assistant Examiner: Wolfe; Robert L.
Claims
What I claim is:
1. In a vehicle body having a door, a door lock mounted on the door
and including a lock frame, a detent swingably mounted on the frame
for movement between holding and released positions with respect to
a latch bolt mounted on the frame for movement between latched and
unlatched positions, an inside latch release means and an outside
latch release means for the door lock mounted on the door, the
combination comprising, an inside release lever pivotally mounted
on said lock frame and operatively connected to said detent, an
actuator lever movably mounted on said frame and operatively
connected to said inside latch release means, coupling means
mounted on said lock frame connected to said outside latch release
means and connectable to said detent, primary locking means mounted
on said frame for selectively coupling said coupling means to said
detent, secondary locking means positioned to engage said primary
locking means, and inside operated garnish button control means
operatively connected to said secondary locking means and said
inside release lever, said garnish control means being movable from
a first position in which said inside latch release means and said
outside latch release means are operative to effect release of said
detent, to a second position in which only said outside latch
release means is operable to effect release of said detent and to a
third position in which said inside latch release means and said
outside latch release means are inoperable to effect release of
said detent; said garnish button control means including an inside
operating garnish button mounted for movement from said first
position to said second position and to said third position, a
bellcrank coaxially mounted on said frame with said secondary
locking means and operatively connected to said inside operating
garnish button, an overcenter spring connected between said
bellcrank and said secondary locking means, link means pivotally
connected at one end to said bellcrank and slideably connected to
said secondary locking means and at the other end thereof slideably
connected to said release lever whereby said other end of said link
means is slideable from a first position with respect to said
release lever in the path of movement of said actuator lever to a
second position out of the path of movement of said actuator
lever.
2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said link means includes pin
means at one end thereof connecting said link means to said
bellcrank, said secondary locking means having a slot therein to
receive said pin to selectively connect said bellcrank to said
secondary locking means, a slot in said inside release lever to
slideably receive said other end of said link means, movement of
the inside release lever by said detent upon movement of said
detent by said latch bolt as said latch bolt is moved to said
latched position causing said slot in said inside release lever to
cam said link means to said second position out of the path of
movement of said actuator lever and to position said inside
operating garnish button in said second position.
3. In a vehicle body having a door, a door lock mounted on the door
and including a lock frame, a detent swingably mounted on the frame
for movement between holding and released positions with respect to
a latch bolt mounted on the frame for movement between latched and
unlatched positions, an inside latch release means and an outside
latch release means for the door lock mounted on the door, the
combination comprising, an inside release lever pivotally mounted
on said lock frame and operatively connected to said detent, an
actuator lever pivotally mounted on said frame, means operatively
connecting said actuator lever to said inside latch release means,
coupling means connected to said outside latch release means,
primary locking means mounted on said frame for selectively
coupling and uncoupling said coupling means with said detent,
secondary locking means positioned to engage and move said primary
locking means to effect said coupling and uncoupling, inside
operator means mounted for movement between a first position, a
second position and a third position, actuator means coupling said
inside operator means to said inside release lever and said
secondary locking means whereby when said inside operator means is
in said first position, said inside latch release means and said
outside latch release means are operative to effect release of said
detent, when in said second position said outside latch release
means is operative to effect release of said detent and when in
said third position, both said inside latch release means and said
outside latch release means are rendered inoperative to effect
release of said detent; said actuator means including crank means
mounted on said frame, adjacent said secondary locking means, link
means, pin means pivotally connecting one end of said link means to
said crank means and slideable with said secondary locking means,
the opposite end of said link means being slideably received in a
slot in said inside release lever for movement from a first
position whereby said actuator lever is operatively connected to
said inside release lever to a second position in which said
actuator lever is operatively disconnected from said inside release
lever and, whereby movement of said detent by said latch bolt
moving to said latched position causes movement of said inside
release lever to cam said link means to said second position and to
effect movement of said inside operator means to said second
position of said inside operator means.
Description
This invention relates to a door latch mechanism and more
particularly, to a door latch mechanism for use in a motor
vehicle.
Conventionally, vehicle body door latches include an inside
operator, such as a garnish button, for disconnecting the inside
release means or remote handle. If the inside release means is
disconnected with the door in open position, the outside operating
means must be operated as the door is closed or the release means
is reconnected. Also, the operator sometimes forgets to operate the
inside operator when the door is in closed position so that the
inside release means remains connected to the detent of the door
latch.
In the prior art, it has also been customary to have the inside
operator or garnish button movable to two positions, that is, a
first position in which both the inside latch release remote handle
and the outside pushbutton latch release means are operably
connected to the detent of the door latch and a second position in
which both the inside latch release remote handle and the outside
pushbutton latch release means are operatively disconnected from
the detent of the door latch.
It is, therefore, the primary object of this invention to improve a
door latch mechanism whereby the inside latch release remote handle
can be automatically disconnected from operable relation to the
detent of the door latch. Another object of this invention is to
provide an improved door latch mechanism whereby the inside latch
release remote handle is operatively disconnected from the closure
latch each time that the vehicle door is closed.
A further object of this invention is to provide an improved door
latch mechanism providing keyless locking of the closure latch with
alternate positions of the inside operator or garnish button.
In the preferred embodiment of the door latch mechanism of the
invention, an actuator lever connected to the inside latch release
remote handle is coaxially mounted with a release lever connected
to the detent of the closure latch. The release lever is provided
with a slot and one end of a connecting link is slideably
positioned in the slot in either a position in the path of the
actuator lever or out of the path thereof to thereby selectively
couple and uncouple the inside latch release remote handle and
detent. The primary locking lever of the closure latch, which
couples or uncouples the outside pushbutton latch release means and
detent, is connected to a secondary locking lever coaxially mounted
with a bellcrank that is connected by a stud pin to the opposite
end of the connecting link, the stud pin being slideably positioned
in a slot of the secondary locking lever. The relative position of
the stud pin in the slot of the secondary locking lever is
maintained by an overcenter spring coupled between the locking
lever and the bellcrank. The bellcrank is connected to the garnish
button on the door for selective movement via the garnish button to
three positions, the first position of the garnish button
operatively connecting both the inside latch release remote handle
and the outside pushbutton latch release means to the detent of the
closure latch, the second position providing for a disconnection
between the inside latch release remote handle and the detent and,
the third position providing for both the inside latch release
remote handle and the outside pushbutton latch release means to be
operatively disconnected from the detent.
For a better understanding of the invention as well as other
objects and further features thereof, reference is had to the
following detailed description to be read in connection with the
accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a partial side elevational view of a vehicle body
embodying a door lock mechanism according to this invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 1 with the garnish
button in the up position;
FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 with the garnish button in the
middle position;
FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 with the garnish button in the
bottom position; and
FIG. 5 is a view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 2.
Referring now particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a vehicle
body, designated 10, includes a front door 12 and a rear door 14,
the latter hinged at its forward edge 16 to the body for swinging
movement between a closed position, as shown, and an open position,
not shown. Door 14 is held in closed position by a door latch
mechanism according to the invention including generally a door
latch assembly 18 and a garnish button assembly 20. The outside
operating release means for the door latch 18 includes a fixed
outside door handle 22 embodying conventional outside pushbutton
latch release means 24 and the inside operating latch release means
includes a conventional inside latch release remote handle 26
mounted on the inner panel of the door 14. A conventional door
latch, not shown, is also used on the front door and provided with
a fixed door handle 22 embodying conventional pushbutton means 24;
a conventional key cylinder assembly 28; and a garnish button 30,
with this door also hinged at its forward edge, not shown, for
swinging movement.
Generally, the door latch 18 is the same as that shown and
described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,190,682 issued on June 22, 1965, to
Robert M. Fox and Edwin H. Klove, Jr., and, accordingly, only those
details of the door latch necessary for an understanding of this
invention will be specifically illustrated and described
herein.
Referring to FIG. 5, the door latch 18 includes a main frame plate
31 and a backplate 32 secured together in spaced relation to each
other to support the remaining elements of the door latch assembly.
A fork-type latch bolt 33 is swingably mounted on a pivot shaft 34,
fixed to plates 31 and 32, for movement between a latched position
with respect to a striker 35, as shown, and an unlatched position,
not shown. A coiled torsion spring 36 encircling pivot shaft 34 has
one leg thereof engaging a notched lateral tab 37 of the latch bolt
and the other leg engaging a notched lateral tab 38 of plate 31 in
order to continually bias the latch bolt 33 toward its unlatched
position.
Latch bolt 33 is held in its latched position against the action of
spring 36 by detent 40 swingably mounted on a pivot shaft 41 fixed
to plates 31 and 32. Detent 40 includes a shoulder 42 engaging
either a shoulder 43 or shoulder 44 of the latch bolt to hold the
latch bolt in either a fully latched position, or a partly latched
safety position, respectively. A coiled torsion spring 45
encircling pivot shaft 41 has one end thereof engaged under a
lanced lateral tab 39 of plate 31 and the other end engaging arm 46
of detent 40 to bias the detent in a counterclockwise direction to
engage and retain the latch bolt. Rotational movement of the detent
40 in a counterclockwise direction is limited by engagement of foot
47 of the detent with a rubber bumper 48 mounted on lateral tab 50
of plate 31.
An intermittent member or lever 51 is suitably coupled to an
outside operating member, not shown, for actuation by outside
pushbutton latch release means 24. The intermittent member is
guided for shifting movement and also located with respect to the
detent 40 by means of a closed elongated slot 52 therein receiving
a lateral bent tab 53 of a primary locking lever 54 which is
pivotally mounted on stub shaft 55 fastened to plate 32. The
primary locking lever is movable between an unlocked position, as
shown, and a locked position slightly clockwise from the position
shown by the bifurcated end of a secondary locking lever 56, as
described in detail hereinafter, and is held in either its locked
or unlocked position by a coil type overcenter spring 49 hooked
between the primary locking lever 54 and plate 32.
Detent 40 is pivoted in a clockwise direction, as shown in FIG. 5,
to release the latch bolt either by a bifurcated release lever 57
operated by the remote handle 26, as described hereinafter, or by
actuation of the outside pushbutton latch release means 24 to shift
the intermittent lever 51 upwardly whereby the tab 58 thereon
engages the foot 60 of detent 40.
Referring now particularly to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the garnish button
assembly 20 includes a garnish button 30 for rear door 14 pivotally
connected by rod 61 to one arm of bellcrank 62 which is pivotally
mounted on pivot stud 63 suitably secured to door 14. The other arm
of bellcrank 62 is connected to a bellcrank 65 through a shiftable
rod 64 which is pivotally secured to each of these elements.
Bellcrank 65 is swingably supported by a pin 66 fastened to lateral
support tabs 67 of plate 32. Also pivotally supported by the pin 66
is a secondary locking lever 56 which has a bifurcated portion
straddling an arm of the primary locking lever 54, as previously
described. One arm of bellcrank 65 has a stud pin 68 secured
thereto which is received within a curved slot 70 formed in the
opposite end of secondary locking lever 56, from the bifurcated
portion thereof. A coil-type overcenter spring 71 is hooked between
an extending arm portion of bellcrank 65 and second locking lever
56 to selectively and alternatively bias the stud pin 68 toward the
bottom of the slot 70 in lever 56, as shown in FIG. 2, or to bias
this stud pin against the upper portion of slot 70 as shown in
FIGS. 3 and 4.
A connecting link or rod 72 has the upper end thereof pivotally
secured to the stud pin 68 and the lower end thereof provided with
a lateral tab 73 which is slideable within an elongated slot 74 in
release lever 57. Release lever 57 is pivotally supported by a
pivot rod 75 secured to spaced lateral tabs 76 of plate 32 so that
the bifurcated end thereof straddles the arm 46 of detent 40. Also
pivotally secured to the pivot rod 75 is an actuator lever 77 which
is connected by a shiftable rod 78 to a conventional inside latch
release remote handle 26, as is well known in the art. Actuator
lever 77 is provided with an upturned arm 80 in which path tab 73
of the connecting link 72 may or may not lie, as described
hereinafter.
As previously described, the garnish button assembly of the door
latch mechanism provides for three positions of the garnish button
30, that is, in a first position or up position as shown in FIG. 2,
a second, intermediate or middle position as shown in FIG. 3, and a
third position or bottom position as shown in FIG. 4. In the full
up position of the garnish button 30, as shown in FIG. 2, the
intermittent lever 51 is in the position shown in FIG. 5 wherein
the tab 58 thereon underlies the foot 60 of detent 40 so that the
detent can be released by the outside pushbutton latch release
means 24 operating on the intermittent lever to move it upwards. In
the up position of the garnish button 30, the bellcrank 65 is in
the position shown in FIG. 2 wherein the stud pin 68 is at the
lower end of slot 70 thereby forcing the connecting link 72
downward to a position whereat the tab 73 thereon is at the lower
end of slot 74 of release lever 57 directly in the path of movement
of the arm 80 of actuator lever 77, so that if the inside latch
release remote handle 26 is operated at this time to swing actuator
lever 77 counterclockwise, release lever 57 will be rotated in the
same direction about the axis of pivot rod 75 to in turn engage arm
46 of detent 40 to pivot the detent in a clockwise direction, as
seen in FIG. 5, to release the latch bolt 33. Thus, when the
garnish button 30 is in the fully up position, both the outside
operating means and the inside operating means of the door latch
are operable or in an unlocked condition to effect release of the
detent from holding engagement with the latch bolt whereby the
latch bolt can be released from either the inside or the outside of
the vehicle.
When the garnish button is then moved downward to the second or
middle position, shown in FIG. 3, the bellcrank 62 is pivoted
clockwise to the position shown in this figure so that the rod 64
will in turn pivot bellcrank 65 in a counterclockwise direction
about pin 66 to move the stud pin 68 from the lower end of the slot
70 of secondary locking lever 56 to the upper end thereof. When
this occurs, spring 71 will go overcenter to now bias the stud pin
68 into engagement with the upper end of the slot 70 of secondary
locking lever 56. Connecting link 72, also connected at one end to
stud pin 68, will move upward with the stud pin 68, thus moving tab
73 of connecting link 72 upward in slot 74 of release lever 57 to a
position at which it is now out of the path of movement of arm 80
of actuator lever 77 whereby the inside latch release remote handle
26 is now effectively disconnected from the detent, that is, the
inside latch release remote handle 26 is now in a freewheeling or
locked condition. In this second position of the garnish button,
the outside operating means is still in an unlocked or operable
condition, but can be locked with the garnish button in this
position, as described hereinafter.
If the garnish button is now moved further downward to the third or
bottom position shown in FIG. 4, bellcrank 62 is rotated further in
a clockwise direction effecting a pivot movement of bellcrank 65 in
a counterclockwise direction about pin 66 so that stud pin 68
already engaged at the upper end of slot 70 will drive secondary
locking lever 56 in a counterclockwise direction. As the secondary
locking lever 56 is thus pivoted to the position shown in FIG. 4,
it will rotate primary locking lever 54 clockwise, as seen in FIG.
5, and as this occurs, it will be snapped to a locking position,
not shown, due to the force of the overcenter spring 49 to in turn
pivot intermittent lever 51 in the same direction to move the tab
58 thereon out of position for engagement with foot 60 of detent
40, effectively disconnecting or locking the outside operating
means from the detent. In this mode, the tab 73 of connecting link
72 is moved further up in slot 74 of release lever 57 out of the
path of travel of arm 80 of actuator lever 77 so that the inside
latch release remote handle 26 is still freewheeling or in locked
condition.
Assuming that the door 14 is in an open position and that the
garnish button has been pushed to the bottom or third position to
thereby effectively shift the primary locking lever 54 to its
locking position as described above, and that the door is then
closed. As the door is closed, the cam edge of the detent 40, that
is, the portion of the detent between the shoulder 42 and foot 60
thereon, will ride up the acrute portion of the latch bolt adjacent
to the shoulders 43 and 44 thereon as the bolt swings to its
latched position to intermittently swing the detent 40 clockwise as
seen in FIG. 5. As the detent 40 swings clockwise, a shoulder 81 of
the detent will engage a lateral tab 82 of the intermittent lever
51 to swing the intermittent lever counterclockwise and thereby
swing the primary locking lever 54 counterclockwise as shown in
FIG. 5 from its locked position to its unlocked position by the
engagement between slot 52 of the intermittent lever 51 and the tab
53 of primary locking lever 54. As this occurs, secondary locking
lever 56 will be pivoted clockwise to the position shown in FIG. 3
and thereby move the garnish button 30 to the second position. If,
on the other hand, with the door in the open position and the
garnish button 30 in the bottom position as just described, and
then the outside pushbutton latch release means is pressed, keyless
locking of the door is accomplished when the door is closed, in the
same manner as described in the above identified U.S. Pat. No
3,190,682 issued to Fox et et al. with the garnish button staying
in the third position.
The garnish button 30 will also be moved to the second or middle
position if the door is closed with the garnish button originally
in the first or up position. Thus, if the door is in an open
position and the garnish button is then moved to the first or up
position, the elements would be positioned as shown in FIG. 2, but
as the door is closed, the detent 40 will be intermittently rocked,
as previously described, to in turn rotate release lever 57
counterclockwise forcing rod 72 upward and rotating bellcrank 65
via stud pin 68 counterclockwise to the position shown in FIG. 3.
Bellcrank 65 is then retained in this position by the biasing
action of spring 71 so that as the release lever 57 rotates back
clockwise to the normal position shown, tab 73 of rod 72 will ride
up the slot 74 of the release lever 57, since rod 72 is now
retained in this up position; the result being that the garnish
button 30 has now been moved to the second position and all of the
remaining elements are positioned as shown in FIG. 3.
Locking of the outside operating means with the garnish button in
the second or middle position can also be accomplished, but it is
first necessary to depress the garnish button to the bottom or
third position and then returning it to the second or middle
position after which the outside pushbutton latch release means 24
is depressed and then closing the door. Upon return of the garnish
button to the second position from the third position, the
bellcrank 65 will be shifted to the position shown for it in FIG. 3
and will be retained in this position due to the force of the
overcenter spring 71 but the secondary locking lever 56 will remain
in the position shown in FIG. 4 because of the overcenter spring
49. Primary locking lever 54 can then at any time be moved to its
unlocked position as shown in FIG. 5 by moving the garnish button
to the first or up position.
It is apparent from the above description that in any mode of
operation in closing the door, that when the door is in a closed
position, the garnish button will be in either the second position
or in the third position. Thus, in order to open the door from the
inside, it is necessary to reengage the inside latch release remote
handle 26, that is, to take it out of the freewheeling position.
This is accomplished by moving the garnish button to the first or
up position to place the elements in the position shown in FIG. 2.
When the inside latch release remote handle 26 is then actuated,
unlatching will occur as previously described. In addition, as the
release lever 57 is rotated counterclockwise to effect the
unlatching, rod 72 will be forced upward to in turn rotate
bellcrank 65 via stud pin 68 counterclockwise to the position shown
in FIG. 3. Bellcrank 65 is then retained in this position by spring
71 so that as the release lever 57 rotates back clockwise to the
normal position shown, tab 73 of rod 72 will ride up the slot 74 in
release lever 57 to the position shown in FIG. 3. During the
above-described rotation of bellcrank 65, the garnish button was
moved from the first position to the second position. Thus, the
garnish button is always moved to the second position when the door
is opened from the inside to place the inside latch release remote
handle 26 automatically in a locked or freewheeling condition.
If, however, the garnish button is moved to the first position to
effect opening of the door from the inside and then, before the
door is opened from the inside, someone opens the door from the
outside by operation of the outside pushbutton release means 24,
the garnish button will still be automatically moved to the second
position. Thus, when the outside pushbutton release means is
depressed to effect the release of detent 40 via intermittent lever
51 as previously described, the rotation of detent 40 will cause
counterclockwise rotation of release lever 57 with the same result
as described above to effect shifting of the garnish button to the
second position.
While the invention has been described with reference to the
structures disclosed herein, it is not confined to the details set
forth since minor changes could be made without departing from the
invention. For example, if desired, the bellcrank 62 and pivot stud
63 could be mounted on an extension of backplate 32 rather than
being mounted on the door as described. Accordingly, this
application is intended to cover such modifications or changes as
may come within the purposes of the improvements or the scope of
the following claims.
* * * * *