GB1327568A - Latch for vehicle doors - Google Patents

Abstract

1327568 Latches for vehicle doors ATWOOD VACUUM MACHINE CO 17 March 1972 [5 Nov 1971] 12495/72 Heading E2A A latch comprises a support, i.e. a plastics case 21, first and second latching rotors 13, 14 mounted on the support to turn about spaced parallel axes 26, 27 from unlatching positions to fully latching positions, each of the rotors having first and second legs 19, 20 defining a throat 17 in which a striker 15 is received and retained by the legs when the rotors are in their fully latching positions, a pawl 33, pivotally mounted on the support, a first detent 66 located on and movable with the pawl and engageable with the free end of the first leg 19 of the rotor 13 to hold the latter in its fully latching position, and a second detent 70 on the pawl and movable in unison with the detent 66 into engagement with the second rotor 14 to hold the latter in its fully latching position. As shown, when the rotor 13 is turned from an unlatching position to a secondary latching position thereof, the leg 20 of the rotor is first engaged by the detent 66 on the spring-loaded pawl 33 and cams the pawl about the pin 34, then as the inner edge of the leg 20 moves past the detent the spring 43 biasses the pawl downwardly so that the detent engages the inner edge of the leg 20 as seen in Fig. 6. Continued turning of the rotor 13 upon complete closure of the vehicle door causes the leg 19 of the rotor to cam the pawl until the detent 66 hooks on to the shoulder 77, Fig. 5, to hold the rotor in fully latched position. When the rotor 14 is in the secondary latching position thereof a lug 74 of the detent 70 engages against a shoulder 75 on the rotor; when the rotor is in the fully latched position the lug engages a shoulder 76 on the rotor. The pawl is tripped to unlatch the door from the outside by a contactor 37, (Figs. 4 and 5) having a slot 41 which receives a finger of the pawl when the contactor is pivoted by an outside actuator such as a push button. A locking lever operated by a button-actuated lever 53 from inside or from outside the door by a key-actuated lever 55, has a lug 51 which overlies and engages the contactor to prevent the latter swinging and tripping the pawl 33; the lever 46 may also be operated by a lever 57 adapted to be turned by a remote actuator. The rotors are axially offset axially from one another and lie in side-by-side, planes.