US2877043A

US2877043A - Rotary bolt door latch

Info

Publication number: US2877043A
Application number: US534034A
Authority: US
Inventors: James D Leslie
Original assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
Current assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
Priority date: 1955-09-13
Filing date: 1955-09-13
Publication date: 1959-03-10
Anticipated expiration: 1976-03-10

Description

March 10, 1959 .1. D. LESLIE 2,377,043

ROTARY BOLT DOOR LATCH Filed Sept. l3, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 "III ATTORNEY March 10, 1959 J. D. LESLIE 2,877,043

ROTARY BOLT DOOR LATCH Filed Sept. 13, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent ROTARY BOLT DOOR LATCH James D. Leslie, Birmingham, Mich., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application September 13, 1955, Serial No. 534,034

12 Claims. (Cl. 292-280) This invention relates to door latches, and more particularly to door latches for automobiles.

One feature of the invention is that it provides an improved door latch; another feature of the invention is that it provides an automobile door latch in which the parts are so located and arranged that the latch may readily be adapted for use in different locations having varying space requirements and operating connections, as on front doors or rear doors or on differing automobile body styles, with only slight modifications in the operating means; a further feature of the invention is that it provides a latch having an intermittent or release lever which is slidably and pivotally mounted in a manner to prevent jamming of the lever or difficult push button operation because of friction between the lever and associated parts; still another feature of the invention is that the intermittent lever is slidably mounted on a pivoted locking lever; and yet a further feature of the invention is that the intermittent lever is swingable between locked and unlocked positions about its point of connection with the operating means.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and from the drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary side elevation of an automobile having one form of the improved latch mounted in the front door and a modified form of the latch mounted in the rear door;

Fig. 2 is a detail section through a portion of the front door latch taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the front door latch of the automobile of Fig. l, the intermittent link being shown in unlocked position in solid lines and in locked position in broken lines;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the modified latch shown in the rear door of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of a second modified form of the invention, parts being broken away to show underlying structure; and

Fig. 6 is a section taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

In the manufacture of automobiles, the latching conditions, and particularly the space available for the latch and the location of the latch, often vary considerably between front and rear doors in a particular body style; and in addition to this, it is usual for a single manufacturer to produce a number of different body styles. Because of these variations in each body and in the types of bodies, it is frequently necessary to use different types of door latches in the front door and in the rear door and in the different body styles. This results in unnecessary expense in the development and production of several different types of latches.

This invention provides a door latch which is particularly suited for use at various locations in automobile doors and which may readily be adapted for use in different body styles merely by changing the connection to the operating means so that a single basic latch mechanism can be used under the varying conditions described above. In addition, the latch parts are so located and arranged that jamming or excessive friction are avoided. I

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows an automobile 10 having a front door 12 hingedly mounted at its front edge in conventional manner, and a rear door 14 hingedly mounted at its front edge on a center body pillar 16 which terminates at the belt line of the car. The front door carries a latch mechanism designated generally at 18 and the rear door carries a latch mechanism designated generally at 20. As will appear in more detail as the description proceeds, these latches are basically identical, but the rear door latch includes some modifications in the means of connecting the release lever to the door outside operator. The front door latch is shown in detail in Figs. 2 and 3 and the rear door latch is shown in detail in Fig. 4.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the latch 18 has a right angular frame comprising a body portion 24 which, when the latch is mounted in the door, lies in a plane generally parallel to the jamb face of the door, and a flange portion 26 which lies in a plane generally parallel to the inside panel of the door. Latching means including a bolt 28 and a cam 30 are rotatably mounted on the body 24, the bolt and the cam being rigidly secured to a rotatable stub shaft 32. The outer end of this shaft is journaled in a bolt housing 34 (Figs. 1 and 4). The arrangement of the bolt housing and the cooperation of the bolt 28 and housing 34 with a striker on the automobile body are shown in detail in the copending application of Stanley D. Cockburn et al., en- 1 titled Rotary Gear Bolt Door Latch, filed November 16,

1953, as Serial No. 392,266, and in the copending application of Stanley D. Cockburn et al., entitled Door Latch Safety Interlock, filed December 30, 1954, as Serial No. 478,766.

A detent 36 is pivotally mounted on the body 24 at 37 and has a foot 38 adapted to engage the cam 30 to block rotatable movement of the bolt 28 in one direction so that the door will be held latched with the bolt teeth engaging complementary teeth on the striker. In order to open the door, the detent is pivoted in a clockwise direction as the parts appear in Fig. 3 to move the foot 38 out of blocking relation with the bolt.

A locking bell crank lever 40 is pivotally mounted on a stud 42 on the flange 26, one arm 40a of the bell crank having a guide stud 44 projecting therefrom, and an intermittent or release link 46 is slidably mounted on the stud 44. The stud extends through an elongated longitudinal slot 46a in the link and a collar 48 holds the link on the stud. Adjacent its lower end the link 46 has a shoulder 50 adapted to engage a projecting arm 36a on the detent so that slidable movement of the link, when the parts are in the solid line position of Fig. 3, pivots the detent out of engagement with the cam 30. Mounting the link 46 loosely on the bell crank eliminates the possibility that the link will bind and minimizes friction in the operation of the link.

Outside operating means for sliding the link comprises an operating lever 52 pivotally mounted on the body 24 by means of a stud 54. Projecting from the inner end of the operating lever is an integral finger 56 which extends through an opening 58 in the link 46. The opening 58 is larger than the finger 56 to provide a loose fit so that the link 46 may swing around the finger 56 when the link is moved to its locked position as will later be described. The outer end of the operating lever is connected to a rod 60 which extends to a lever 61 on the door shown in Fig. 1. A push button 62 of conventional construction in a fixed gripping handle 63 on the door is arranged to move the lever 61 upon depression of the push button to i raise the outer end of the operating lever 52, depressing 3 the finger 56 and sliding the link 46 downwardly so that the shoulder 50 engages the arm 36a of the detent and pivots the detent out of engagement with the cam 30 to free the bolt for rotation in either direction.

In order to lock the door, the link 46 is swung about the axis formed by the finger 56 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. When in this position the shoulder 50 on the intermittent link bypasses the detent arm 36a when the push button 62 is depressed. In order to swing the intermittent link 46 to locked position the bell crank 40 is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction as the parts appear in Fig. 3. An arm 40b of bell crank 46 is connected by a stud 64 to a pivoted inside locking lever 65 and also to a link 66 which forms a part of the outside locking means.

The inside locking lever 65 is connected by a rod 68 to a conventional garnish molding push button 70 (Fig. 1.) which, when depressed, pivots the lever 65 in a clock wise direction, causing the bell crank 46 to pivot in a counterclockwise direction and the link 46 to swing about the axis of finger 56 to its locked position where the shoulder 50 bypasses the detent arm 36a upon sliding movement of the link. Under these conditions, the outside push button 62 merely free wheels without releasing the latch. An overcenter spring 72 yieldably holds the inside locking lever 65 in either its locked or unlocked position.

As shown in Fig. 3, the link 66 projects through an opening in the frame and extends down to the lower edge of the frame where it makes pivotal connection with an outside locking lever '74 pivoted at 76 on the body portion of the frame. The outer end of the locking lever is connected by a rod 78 and a lever 79 (Fig. 1) to a conventional key locking cylinder device 81.

The inside release means for the door latch includes a multi-armed lever 80 pivoted on the flange on a stud 82. One arm 89a of the lever 80 is connected to one end of a coil spring 84 which is wrapped around stud 82 and which has its other end anchored in a tab 86 bent from the lower edge of the lock frame portion 26. This spring biases the lever 80 in a clockwise direction and, by virtue of a connection between the lever 80 and the detent 36, releasably holds the detent in engagement with the cam 30. Another arm 89b has a notch 860 in its end through which the arm 36a of the detent projects. A third arm 80d of the lever 80 terminates in a turned flange 80c which lies adjacent the end of one arm 88a of a bell crank 88 pivoted on the flange at 90, the other arm 88b of the bell crank 88 is connected to a rod 92 which extends to a conventional inside turn handle 94 on the door (see Fig. 1). Still another arm 80 of the multi-armed lever 80 terminates in a flange which lies adjacent a projection 96 extending from the intermittent link 46.

Operation As described above, the latch may be released from outside the automobile by depressing the push button 62, which pulls up on rod 60 and causes link 46 to slide downwardly so that its shoulder 50 picks up the arm 36a of the detent and pivots the detent in a clockwise direction out of engagement with the cam 30.

The latch may be released from inside the car by turning the handle 94 to pull on the bell crank 88 through the rod 92, pivoting the bell crank 88 in a clockwise direction. Arm 88a of the bell crank picks up flange Site of the multi-armed lever 80 and pivots this lever in a counterclockwise direction, swinging the detent out of engagement with the cam.

In order to lock the door from outside, a proper key is inserted in the key cylinder 81 and turned to push down on rod 78, pivoting lever 74 in a counterclockwise direction and raising link 66. Since the upper end of link 66 is connected to bell crank 40, this bell crank pivots a counterclockwise direction andswings the link 46 to its locked position about the pivot formed by finger 56.

Locking from inside is accomplished by depressing push button 70 and rod 68 to pivot lever 65 in a clockwise direction, pivoting bell crank 40 and swinging link 46 to locked position.

The latch illustrated incorporates the features of automatic undogging and keyless locking. The term automatic undogging means that when the latch is in locked position and the inside handle is turned or the door is slammed shut, the latch is automatically undogged or moved back to unlocked position so that if the door is slammed shut when the link 46 is in its locked position the operator will not lock himself out of the car. Assuming the link 46 to be swung to its locked position, operation of the inside handle 94 will pivot the multiarmed lever 86 in a counterclockwise direction so that the flange on the arm will pick up projection 96 and move the intermittent link 46 back to its unlocked position. Also, if the door is slammed shut When the link 46 is in its locked position the detent will cam over the teeth of member 30 pivoting lever 80 to pick up the intermittent link and swing it to unlocked position.

While under normal circumstances of operation, the door will not be locked when slammed shut, it is possible to accomplish keyless locking by locking the door either by means of the key or by means of the garnish molding button 70 while the door is open and then depressing the outside push button 62 when the door is slammed shut. Operation of the key or the garnish molding button 70 will swing the intermittent link 46 to its locked position. Now if the door is slammed shut, the lock will be automatically undogged in the manner described above; however, if the outside push button 62 is depressed while the door is being shut, the intermittent link 46 will be slid downwardly so that the projection 96 on this link is out of the path of movement of the flange on the arm 80 and when the door is shut the arm 80 will merely free wheel and will not swing the link back to unlocked position.

Fig. 4 shows a modified form of lock which is illustrated at 20 in Fig. 1 as being located in the rear door of the automobile.

In this modification, the bolt 28, the cam 30, the detent 36 and the lever 52, all of which are mounted on the body portion 24- of the frame, are identical with the latch parts shown in Fig. 3. Similarly, all of the operating parts mounted on the flange portion 26 of the frame are identical with portions already identified and described in the first form of latch shown in Fig. 3 (except that lever 83 in Fig. 4 is shaped differently than lever 88 in Fig. 3) and these parts will not again be described. In the latch of Fig. 4 the outside locking means is omitted. In addition to the latch parts on the flange shown in Fig. 3, there is a so-called selective free wheeling mechanism in the latch of Fig. 4 comprising a supplemental inside 'lever 100 which is pivoted coaxially with the lever 88' and to which rod 92' is connected. The levers 88 and are provided with cross slots 102 and 104 respectively, and these levers are connected by a spring rod 106 to the inside locking lever 65. A bent end on the spring rod 166 engages a selected one of a plurality of arms in a slot 108 in the lever 65, being releasably heldin the selected slot by a spring 110. When the spring rod 106 is in one of the arms of the slot 108 the lower end of the spring rod always ties the levers 88 and 104 together so that the operation of the inside door handle 112 is similar to the operation of the front handle S 4 whether or not the door is locked. However, when the spring rod is connected in the other arm of slot' 108, the lower end is aligned with the cross slot 104 when the door is locked so that the inside handle merely free wheels. A similar selective free wheeling system is shown and described in detail in Meservy Patent 2,674,482.

Because most of the .parts of the front and rear door E, latches shown in Figs. 3 and 4 respectively are identical, a single basic latch may be used. However, it will be noted from Fig. 1 that the front door latch is located several inches below the push buton 62 and must be connected to the push button by the rod 60. On the other hand, the rear door latch 20 is located adjacent the rear door push button 114 and may be operated directly by the push button. This location of the latch is dictated by the body dimensions and particularly by the hinges for the rear door, these hinges being connected to the short center body pillar 16. In order to adapt the basic latch of Fig. 3 to direct push button operation, there is a push button bell crank 116 which is pivoted on the frame body 24 coaxially with the detent at 37. This bell crank has a flange 116a which is so located that it is engaged by a rod 120 connected to the rear door push button 114. A link 122 connects the bell crank 116 with the lever 52 so that the intermittent link may be actuated by depression of the rear door push button 114. In other respects, the latches of Figs.

3 and 4 are identical.

Figs. 5 and 6 show fragmentarily a second modified form of latch. This latch is basically similar to the latch of Figs. 3 and 4, and since it is intended to be a rear door latch, it includes the selective free wheeling mechanism described inconnection with Fig. 4. The latch of Figs. 5 and 6 is intended to be mounted in the door at a location spaced laterally from the outside push button, and consequently, the outside push button operating means is modified. There is a support bracket 130 which is riveted at 131 to the frame and which extends inwardly rearwardly parallel with the flange 26 of the frame. This support bracket is shown broken 'away in Fig. 5 to show underlying structure.

The bracket 130 pivotally mounts an operating lever 132. The rear end of this lever is connected to a rod 134 which is similar to the rod 60 of Fig. 1 in that it extends upwardly to an outside push button operator for the door. The front end of the lever 132 has a bent end 132a with a tongue which is loosely received in the slot 58 in the intermittent link 46 to provide a connection between the operating lever and the intermittent link similar to that shown in Fig. 3. In this modification of the latch, the only parts which are mounted on the body portion 24 of the frame are the bolt and its associated cam and the detent so that additional space is provided for the door window glass run channel.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, it is capable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit 'and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

'1. An automobile door latch of the character described, including: a latch frame having a body lying in a plane generally parallel to the jamb face of the door and a flange extending from said body and lying in a plane generally parallel to a side panel of the door; 'latching'means pivotally mounted on said body; a detent movably mounted on said body and having a foot adapted to engage said latching means to block pivotal movement in one direction; a lever pivotally mounted on said flange; a guide stud mounted on and projecting from said lever; a slotted link slidably mounted intermediate its ends on said guide stud, said link having a shoulder adjacent one end adapted to engage said detent to move the detent out of blocking relation with said latching means and said link being swingable upon pivotal movement of said lever between an unlocked position in which said shoulder engages the detent upon sliding movement of the link and a locked position in which said shoulder bypasses the detent upon sliding movement of the link and said link having an opening adjacent its end remote from said shoulder; operating means for sliding said link comprising a lever having a free end fitting loosely in the opening in the link; and locking means for swinging said link between locked and unlocked positions.

2. An automobile door latch of the character described, including: a latch frame having a body lying in a plane generally parallel to the jamb face of the door and a flange extending from said body and lying in a plane generally parallel to a side panel of the door; latching means pivotally mounted on said body; a detent movably mounted on said body and having a foot adapted to engage said latching means to block pivotal movement in one direction; a lever pivotally mounted on said flange; a guide stud mounted on and projecting from said lever; a slotted link loosely slidably mounted intermediate its ends on said guide stud, said link having a shoulder adjacent one end adapted to engage said detent to move the detent out of blocking relation with said latching means and said link being swingable upon pivotal movement of said lever between an unlocked position in which said shoulder engages the detent upon sliding movement of the link and a locked position in which said shoulder bypasses the detent upon sliding movement of the link and said link having an opening adjacent its end remote from said shoulder; outside operating means for sliding said link comprising a lever having a free end fitting loosely in the opening in the link; inside operating means for moving said detent independently of said link; outside locking means for swinging said link between locked and unlocked positions; and inside locking means for swinging said link between locked and unlocked positions.

3. An automobile door latch of the character described, including: a latch frame having a body lying in a plane generally parallel to the jamb face of the door and a flange extending from said body and lying in a plane generally parallel to a side panel of the door; latching means pivotally mounted on said body; a detent movably mounted on said body and having a foot adapted to engage said latching means to block pivotal movement in one direction; a lever pivotally mounted on said flange; a guide stud mounted on and projecting from said lever; a slotted link slidably mounted intermediate its ends on said guide stud, said link having a first shoulder adjacent one end adapted to engage said detent to move the detent out of blocking engagement with said latching means and said link being swingable upon pivotal movement of said lever between an unlocked position in which said shoulder engages the detent upon sliding movement of the link and a locked position in which said shoulder bypasses the detent upon sliding movement of the link, the link having a second shoulder thereon and the link having an opening adjacent its end remote from said first shoulder; outside operating means for sliding said link comprising a lever pivotally mounted on the frame and having a free end fitting loosely in the opening in the link; inside operating means for moving said detent independently of said link, the last-mentioned means having a projection adapted to engage the second shoulder on said link to swing said link to unlocked position upon operation of the inside operating means; and locking means for swinging said link between locked and unlocked positions.

4. An automobile door latch of the character described, including: a latch frame having a body lying in a plane generally parallel to the jamb face of the door and a flange extending from said body and lying in a plane generally parallel to a side panel of the door; latching means including a bolt rotatably mounted on said body; a detent pivotally mounted on said body and having a 'foot adapted to engage said latching means to block rotatable movement of the bolt in one direction; a lever pivotally mounted on said flange; a guide stud mounted on and projecting from said lever; a slotted link loosely slidably mounted intermediate its ends on said guide earn-04s stud, said link having a shoulder adjacent one end adapted to engage said detentto pivot the detent out of blocking relation with the bolt and said link'being swingable upon pivotal movement of said lever between an unlocked position in which said shoulder engages the detent upon sliding movement of the link and a locked position in which said shoulder bypasses the detent upon sliding movement of the link and said link having an (opening adjacent its end remote from said shoulder; operating means for sliding said link including a pivotally generally parallel to the jamb face of the door and a flange extending from said body and lying in-a plane generally parallel to a side panel of the door; latching means pivotally mounted on said body; a detent movably mounted on said body and having a foot adapted to engage said latching means to block pivotal movement in one direction; a lever pivotally mounted on said flange; a guide stud mounted on and projecting from said lever; a slotted link slidably mounted intermediate its ends on said guide stud, said link having a shoulder adjacent one end adapted to engage said detent to move the detent out of blocking engagement with said latching means and said link being swingable upon pivotal movement of said lever between an unlocked position in which said shoulder engages the detent upon sliding movement of the link and a locked position in which said shoulder bypasses the detent upon sliding movement of the link and said link having an opening adjacent its end remote from said shoulder; outside operating means for sliding said link including a pivotally mounted operating lever having one end loosely connected in the opening in said link to form the axis of swinging movement of the link; inside operating means for moving said detent independently of said link; and locking means for swinging said link between locked and unlocked positions.

6. An automobile door latch of the character described, including: a latch frame having a body lying in aplane generally parallel to the jamb face of the door and a flange extending from said body and lying in a plane generally parallel to a side panel of the door; latching means pivotally mounted on said body; a detent movably mounted on said body and having a foot adapted to engage said latching means to block pivotal movement in one direction; a lever pivotally mounted on said flange; a guide stud mounted on and projecting from said lever; a slotted link loosely slidably mounted intermediate its ends on said guide stud, said link having a shoulder adjacent one end adapted to engage said detent to move the detent out of blocking engagement with said latching means and said link being swingable upon pivotal movement of said lever between an unlocked position in which said shoulder engages the detent upon slidin movement of the link and a locked position in which said shoulder bypasses the detent upon sliding movement of the link and said link having an opening adjacent its end remote from said shoulder; outside operating means for sliding said link including a pivotally mounted operating lever having one end loosely connected in the opening in said link to form the axis of swinging movement of the link, a push button, and means connecting said push button to said link; inside operating means for moving said detent independently of said link; outside locking means for swinging said link between locked and unlocked positions; and inside operating means for swinging said link between locked and unlocked positions.

7. An automobile door latch of the character described, including: a latch frame having a .body lying ina plane generallyparallel to the-:jamb face of the door and a flange extending .from said body and lying ina plane generally parallel to a sidepanel of ;the door; latching means pivotally mounted on said body; a detent movably mounted on said body and having'a foot adaptedto engage said latching means to block vpivotal movement in one direction; a lever pivotally mounted on said flange; a guidestud mounted on and projecting from said lever; a slotted link loosely slidably mounted intermediate its .ends on said guide stud, said 1ink-having a shoulder adjacent one end adapted to engage said detent to move the detent out of blocking engagement with said latching means and said link having an opening adjacent'its end remote from said shoulder; operating means for sliding said link comprising a lever having a free end fitting loosely in the opening in the link; andlocking means for rendering said link ineffective to move saiddetent.

8. An automobile ,door latch of the character described, including: a latch frame having a body lyingin .a plane generally parallel to the jamb face of the door and a flange extending from said body and lying in a plane generallyparallel to a sidepanel of the door; latching means pivotally mounted on said body; a'detent movably mounted on said body and havingta foot adapted to engage said latching means to block pivotal movement in one direction; a lever pivotally mounted on'said flange; a guide stud mounted on and projecting from said lever; a vertically extending slotted link loosely slidably mounted intermediate its ends on said guide stud, said link having a shoulder adjacent its lower end adapted to engage said detent to move the dent out of blocking relation withsaid latching means and said link being swingable upon pivotal movement of said lever between an unlocked position in which said shoulder engages the detent upon sliding movement of the link and a locked position in which said shoulder bypasses the detent upon sliding movement of the link and said link having an opening adjacent its upper end; the outside operating means for sliding said link including a levenmounted-on said body having one end loosely connected in the opening in said link to form the axis of swinging movement of the link, a push button, and a rod connecting said push button to said last-mentioned lever.

9. An automobile door latch of the character described, including: a latch frame having a body lying in a plane generally parallel to the jamb face of the door and a flange extending from said body and lying in a plane generally parallel to a side panel of-the door; latching means pivotally mounted on said body; a detentmovably mounted on said body and having a foot adapted-to engage said latching means to block pivotal movement in one direction; a lever pivotally mounted on said-flange; a guide stud mounted on and projecting from said lever; a vertically extending slotted link loosely slidably mounted intermediate its endson said guide stud, said link having a shoulder adjacent its lower end adapted to engage said detent to move the detent out of blocking relation with said latching means and saidlink being-swingable upon pivotal movement of said lever between an unlocked position in which said shoulder engages thedetent upon sliding movement of the link and a locked position in which said shoulder bypasses the detent upon sliding movement of the link and said link havingan opening adjacent its upperend; outside operating means for sliding said link including an operating lever pivotally mounted intermediate its'ends on said body and having one end loosely connected in the opening in said link to form the axis of swinging movement of the link ,-=a push button, and a rod connecting saidpush button to the other end of said last-mentioned lever; and locking means for swinging said link between locked-and unlocked positions.

10. An automobile door latch of the character described, including: a latch frame having a body lying in a plane generally parallel to thejamb face of'thedoor and a flange extending from said body and lying in a plane generally parallel to a side panel of the door; latching means pivotally mounted on said body; a detent movably mounted on said body and having a foot adapted to engage said latching means to block pivotal movement in one direction; a lever pivotally mounted on said flange; a guide stud mounted on and projecting from said lever; a slotted link slidably mounted on said guide stud, said link having a shoulder adapted to engage said detent to move the detent out of blocking relation with said latching means and said link being swingable upon pivotal movement of said lever between an unlocked position in which said shoulder engages the detent upon sliding movement of the link and a locked position in which said shoulder bypasses the detent upon sliding movement of the link; and operating means for sliding said link including a pivotally mounted operating lever having one end connected to said link to form the axis of swinging movement of the link, a push button, a bell crank pivoted on said body and having a portion engageable by the push button and a link connecting said bell crank to said operating lever.

11. An automobile door latch of the character described, including: a latch frame having a body lying in a plane generally parallel with the jamb face of the door and a flange extending from said body and lying in a plane generally parallel to a side panel of the door; latching means including a bolt rotatably mounted on said body; a detent pivotally mounted on said body and having a foot adapted to engage said latching means to block rotatable movement of the bolt in one direction; a lever pivotally mounted on said flange; a guide stud mounted on and projecting from said lever; a slotted link slidably mounted on said guide stud, said link having a shoulder adapted to engage said detent to pivot the detent out of blocking relation with the bolt and said link being swingable upon pivotal movement of said lever between an unlocked position in which said shoulder engages the detent upon sliding movement of the link and a locked position in which said shoulder bypasses the detent upon sliding movement of the link; outside operating means for sliding said link including a pivotally mounted operating lever having one end connected to said link to form the axis of swinging movement of the link, a push button, a bell crank pivoted on said body and having a portion engageable by the push button and a link connecting said bell crank to said operating lever; inside operating means for moving said detent independently of said link; and locking means for swinging said link between locked and unlocked positions.

12. An automobile door latch of the character de scribed, including: a latch frame having a body lying in a plane generally parallel with the jamb face of the door and a flange extending from said body and lying in a plane generally parallel to a side panel of the door; latching means including a bolt rotatably mounted on said body; a detent pivotally mounted on said body and having a foot adapted to engage said latching means to block rotatable movement of the bolt in one direction; a lever pivotally mounted on said flange; a guide stud mounted on and projecting from said lever; a slotted link slidably mounted on said guide stud, said link having a shoulder adapted to engage said detent to pivot the detent out of blocking relation with the bolt and said link being swingable upon pivotal movement of said lever between an unlocked position in which said shoulder engages the detent upon sliding movement of the link and a locked position in which said shoulder bypasses the detent upon sliding movement of the link; outside operating means for sliding said link including a pivotally mounted operating lever having one end connected to said link to form the axis of swinging movement of the link, a push button, a bell crank pivoted on said body and having a portion engageable by the push button and a link connecting said bell crank to said operating lever; inside operating means for moving said detent independently of said link; and locking means for swinging said link between locked and unlocked positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,249,018 Marple July 15, 1941 2,569,047 Endter Sept. 25, 1951 2,674,482 Meservy Apr. 6, 1954 2,786,348 Endter Mar. 26, 1957