US3096845A - Vehicle door locking system - Google Patents

Description

July 9, 1963 3,096,845

J. R. OISHEI ETAL VEHICLE DOOR LOCKING SYSTEM Filed April 22, 1960 INVENTOR. JOHN E. OISf/E/ and BY RA YMOA/D ,4. DIE/BEL QLM , ATTORNEYS United States Patent (3 3,696,845 VEHICLE DOOR LOCKING SYSTEM JohnR. Oishei, Buffalo, and Raymond. A. Deibel, Cheektowaga, N.Y., assignors to Trico Products Corporation, Buttalm. F led; APE S 2 10., Claims (Cl. 1.8;0..-82)

Tho presont invention relates to a door lock actuating system; for an automotive vehicle which is capable of continuously maintaining the door locks either in a powerloclg or power-unlocked condition after the initial setting offthe door locking system for either type of operation.

Various types of vehicle operators have different requirernents with respect to the maintaining of the door locks of a vehicle in, either a locked or an unlocked condition while the vehicle is in operation. More specificall y, an operator whose passengers consist primarily of children is not only desirous of having the door locks in the rear doors of the vehicle in a locked condition to thereby prevent the children from opening the vehicle doors the manipulation of the door handles, but is also desirous that a force actually be continuously maintained on the rear door lock pins or buttons to prevent the children in the rear of the vehicle from manipulating these door unlocking buttons, which is prerequisite to the opening of the doors" by the manipulation of the door handl'es. Women who drive alone also desire this type of automatic lock operation because it inherently results in continuously looking all of the doors against instrusion from outside the vehicle. In contrast to the foregoing types ofi vehicle operators, there are other types, such as salesmen or those who make a large number of passenger pickups, who desire that the door locks be positively maintained in an unlocked condition atall times while they are operating thevehicle so that the vehicle doors can always be opened from the outside. This type of operation insures that thesalesman will be able to open any of the vehicle doors from the outside to conveniently remove merchandise from the vehicle; it also insures that a passenger who desires entry to the vehicle will be able to open any of the vehicle doors from the outside without inconveniencing thevehicle operator. Furthermore, it is desirable foroperators, who normally drive with the vehicle .doors in an unlocked condition, to be able to lock alluof the vehicle doors from a remote position within the vehicle. after parking, but prior to leaving the vehicle, to

7 thereby obviate the necessity for manually locking each of the vehicle doors individually. In all of the above types of operation, it is desirable that the door locks be maintainedin the condition in which they were last placed prior to termination of vehicle operation to obviate the inconvenience of manually placing each of the locks in the opposite condition. The present invention is concerned with supplying a universal door lock controlling system which is inherently capable of selectively provid ing all the above types of operation at the option of the vehicle operator.

It is accordingly the primary object of the present invention to .provide a simplified universal door lock controlling system for an automotive vehicle which is used in conjunction with preexisting standard latch locks of the vehicle and which will provide automatic continuous locking of the vehicle doors in response to the normal operation of the vehicle or will insure that all of the vehicle; doors remain continuously unlocked during all conditions of the operation of the vehicle, either of the foregoing types of operation being automatically obtainable, after the initial selective actuation of a simple switch, and in addition, the system will cause the door locks to remain in the condition in which they were last placed attests Ce Patented July 9, 1963 2. after vehicle operation is terminated, thereby obviating the necessity to. manually relock all of the vehicle doors after operation of the vehicle is terminated. Other objects and attendant advantages of the present invention will be readily perceived hereafter.

In accordance with the present invention, each of the latch locks in the doors of an automotive vehicle are coupled to a double-acting fluid pressure motor. Each motor in turn is coupled to a source of fluid pressure, such as the engine intake manifold, through suitable conduits. Located in one of the conduits is a main selector valve which selectively permits communication between the fluid pressure source and either one side or the other of all the fluid pressure motors Because of this arrangement, whenever the vehicle engine is operating, the manifold vacuum, at the option of the operator, causes the motors to either continuously hold all the door locks in either a locked or unlocked condition. A vacuum tank is operatively associated with the intake manifold to permit the looking or unlocking force of the motors to be maintained even when there is a drop in manifold vacuum, as when the vehicle is climbing along hill.

The rear door locks have a lost motion feature therein so that when they are in a locked condition the manipulation of the door opening handles inside of the vehicle will be ineffective for opening the vehicle doors. Furthermore, the locking force of the motors is continuously exerted on the door locking pins or buttons on the rear doors of the vehicle so that they cannot be pulled to an unlocking position to. thereby prevent children from manipulating these buttons to unlock the doors. Because of this. arrangement children in the rear of a four-door vehicle Will be safeguarded against accidents which may occur due to accidental opening of the vehicle doors. The front doors of the vehicle do not have the lost motion connection mentioned above, and the leverage obtainable through the use of the inside front door handles will permit either the passenger or the; operator to unlatch and open the. front doors, notwithstanding that the door locking. motors in the front doors tend to bias the, latch locks to a locked condition. When the front door handle is released, the force. exerted by the door lock actuating motor will cause the door lock to return to a locked condition when the vehicle door is closed, only if the operator is sitting on the front seat of the vehicle. Thus, notwithstanding that a passenger may have alighted from the. front of the vehicle while the driver remains inside, the subsequent closing of the vehicle door will be accompanied by instant locking thereof against opening from outside of the vehicle, thereby safeguarding the remaining occupants of the vehicle against unauthorized instrusion. However, in the event that the vehicle operator should leave his seat to depart from the vehicle, a valve underneath the seat will be actuated to thereby terminate communication between the door locking motors and the fluid pressure source. Since this communication is terrninated prior to the closing of the door after the operator leaves the vehicle, the door through which he left cannot be automatically relocked, thereby preventing the operator from looking himself out of the vehicle. Since the locks contain mechanism which causes them to remain in the condition in which they were last placed, it is only necessary to relock the door through which the operator left the vehicle, assuming that the continuous locking feature was previously being utilized. This arrangement obviates the necessity for the vehicle operator to relock each of the doors individually.

In the event that the vehicle operator is of the class which requires that the doors be continuously unlocked to permit opening thereof from outside of the vehicle, the operator need only manipulate the valve in the conduit leading tothe door locking motors to cause the mo- 3 tors to exert a continuous door unlocking force on the latch looks at all times. Thus, notwithstanding that the doors are maintained in a latched condition, the fact remains that the doors cannot be inadvertently locked against opening from the outside. This is a convenience for vehicle operators of the class comprising salesmen or the like who frequently require access to the vehicle from outside thereof for the purpose of removing merchandise. It is also a convenience for car pool members or the like who are periodically required to make a large number of passenger pickups. In this respect, it will readily be appreciated that a passenger within the vehicle will not be able to lock the vehicle doors against opening from the outside when the continuous unlocking aspect of the present invention is utilized, thus obviating the necessity for the vehicle operator to be bothered with unlocking the vehicle doors when opening of the doors is required.

If a vehicle is set for operation in the manner in which an unlocking force is maintained on the locks at all times and the vehicle operator desires to lock the doors before leaving the vehicle unattended, he need merely manipulate the main selector valve mentioned above for the purpose of causing the door locking motors to exert a locking force on the door locks. This will cause all of the doors to be locked against opening from outside of the vehicle. However, since the vehicle operator can open either of the front doors from within the vehicle, he can therefore leave the vehicle and need only relock the door which he used in the process of leaving.

It can thus be seen that a universal door locking system has been provided which is selectively capable of providing either continuous locking or continuous unlocking at the option of the operator. The present invention will be more fully understood when the following portions of the specification are read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an automotive vehicle in which the improved door lock actuating system of the present invention is installed;

FIG. 2 is a view, partly in cross-section, of a seat valve used in the system;

FIG. 3 is a View, partly in cross-section, of a control valve used in the system for providing either power locking or unlocking;

FIG. 4 is a view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view of the internal mechanism of the latch locks used in the vehicle doors;

FIG. 6 is a view taken along lines VIVI of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a view taken along line VIIVII of FIG. 5.

In FIG. 1 an automotive vehicle 10 is shown having an engine 11 therein which possesses the usual intake manifold 12. In communication with manifold 12 is one end of a conduit 13, the other end of which is in communication with check valve 14. Whenever the vacuum produced by manifold 12 is of a sufficiently high magnitude, vacuum tank 15 will be evacuated through conduit 16, and conduit 17 which is in communication with conduit 16 will also be evacuated. Whenever the vacuum produced by intake manifold 12 is lower than the previous vacuum produced in tank 15, check valve 14 will close and conduit 17 will be evacuated by the stored vacuum in tank 15. Check valve 14 may be of any conventional construction which will function in the above described manner and may include a properly biased valve; and it is :deemed that a detailed description of this check valve is unnecessary since it is well known to those skilled in the art.

The end of conduit 17 which is remote from check valve 14 is in communication with nipple 18 extending from and in communication with chamber 19 of seat valve 20 which is located underneath the vehicle drivers seat in such a manner that when the seat is occupied valve stem 21 is depressed against the bias of spring 22 to thereby cause the unseating of poppet valve 23 carried on the enlarged portion 24 of valve stem 21 to thereby permit communication between conduit 17 and conduit 25 through nipple 18, chamber 19, and nipple 26. Seat valve 20 is for the purpose of permitting actuation of the door locking motors 27 when the drivers seat is occupied and for preventing such actuation when the drivers seat is unoccupied to thereby preclude locking out of the driver from the vehicle. When the seat is occupied so that valve stem 21 is depressed, spring 28 will expand to cause valve 29 to be seated to thereby prevent communication of conduit 25 -with the atmosphere through valve conduit 30 and filter 31. However, when the seat is unoccupied so that valve 20 assumes the position shown in FIG. 2, communication between conduit 17 leading from the vacuum source and conduit 25 leading to door lock actuating motors 27 is prevented. However, it can be seen that conduit 25 leading to door lock actuating motors 27 is vented to the atmosphere through valve conduit 30 and filter 31 to thereby prevent vacuum from being trapped in the door locking motors when the drivers seat is unoccupied, this in turn permitting manual manipulation of the door locks without interference from the door locking motors, as Will become more apparent hereafter.

The conduit 25 leading from seat valve 20 has one end thereof anchored to nipple 32 (FIG. 3) of selector valve 33. It is selector valve 33 which determines whether the system is set for power locking or power unlocking. Valve 33 includes :a housing 34 having a handle 35 pressed into shell 36 which has rounded shoulder 37 thereon. A spring 38 has the upper end thereof in engagement with the internal portion of shell 36 and the lower end thereof surrounding protuberance 39 of slide valve 40. When knob 35 is moved in a counterclockwise direction so as to cause shoulder 37 to swivel in its mating receptacle, slide valve 40 will move from its position shown to the right and the expansion of spring 38 will effect an over-center movement to cause slide valve to stay in a position (not shown) which is to the right of the position which is shown. The base 41 of valve 33 is suitably staked to housing 34.

In the position of valve 33 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, conduit 25 will be in communication with conduit 42 mounted on nipple 43 through groove 44 in the slide valve. Conduit 42 is in turn in communication with conduits 42a (FIGS. 1 and 5) leading to door lock actuat ing motors 27. When valve 33 is in the position shown, chamber 43 of motor 27 will be evacuated to thereby deflect flexible diaphragm 44 downwardly and cause motor shaft 45 to move downwardly also. This will place door lock 46 in a locked position, as explained in detail hereafter.

When slide valve 40 is in the position shown in FIG. 3, chamber 47 of motor 27 is vented to the atmosphere through conduit 48a and conduit 48 leading from the selector valve 33. Conduit 48 is mounted on nipple 49 which is in communication with vent 50 (FIG. 4) by means of groove 51 in the slide valve. Because chamber 47 is thus vented to the atmosphere, diaphragm 44 will be deflected downwardly in response to the evacuation of chamber 43 in the manner described above.

When knob 35 of selector valve 33 is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction, slide valve 40 will assume a position wherein groove 44 causes communication between nipples 49 and 32 thereby causing evacuation of chamber 47 of motor 27 through conduits 48 and 48a. This in turn will cause diaphragm 44 of motor 27 to deflect upwardly and cause shaft 45 to move upwardly also, to thereby place door lock 46 in an unlocked condition, as will be explained in detail hereafter. When slide valve 40 is in a position which permits evacuation of chamber 47, motor chamber 43 will be vented to the atmosphere through conduits 42a, conduit 42, nipple 43', slide valve groove 51, and vent 50. It can thus be seen that the over-center action of valve 33 causes it to occupy either a power locking or power unlocking condition and that the chamber of the motor which is not being evacuated is always automatically vented through the above described venting arrangement.

Latch locks 46 operate in the following manner: A bel-l crank lever 55 is pivotally mounted on housing 56 by a pin 57. The shaft 58 of a conventional mannual door locking and unlocking pin 59 extends through the molding (not shown) of the vehicle door. Shaft 58 is fastened to one end of bell crank lever 6.9 (FIGS. and 6) which is adapted to pivot about pin 61, the other end of lever 60 fitting within notched recess 62 of link 63. Link 63 is pivotally mounted on pin 64. which extends from flange 65 positioned at a right angle to plate 66 of housing 56. As can be seen from FIG. 6, when shaft 58 is depressed, link 63 will pivot in a counterclockwise direction about its pivot pin 64. to cause the portion. 67 of link 63 to move downwardly and carry prong 63. of link 69 downwardly with it, prong 68. fitting within the slotted portion 70 of link 63. It will be noted that a snapaacting spring 71 (FIG. 6) has one end 72 anchored on flange 65 and the other end 73 anchored in link 63. Thus, when manual locking pin 59 is depressed to. a locked condition (either manually or by the action of motor 27 it is the snap spring 71 which maintains link 63 in a locked position after the locking force on motor 27 is. removed.

Shaft 45 of fluid pressure motor 41 is coupled to shaft 74 (FIGS. 5 and 6) Which is, in turn, coupled to hell crank lever 60. Thus the downward movement of motor shaft 45 in response to the existence of vacuum in lQQking chamber 43 of fluid pressure motor 27 will cause the. same action caused by a downward movement of shaft 58, namely, a downward movement of the leg of bell crank lever 66, to thereby pivot link 63 to the position shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, as, described in detail above.

After link 69 has been pivoted in a clockwise direction about pin 75 due to the fact that the downward movement of pivot link 63 moved prong 68 of link 69 down wardly, the movement of pin 76 to the right, as occurs when the outside door handle or button 76. is manipulated, will cause lever 77 to pivot clockwise about pin 78 and cause link 69 (attached to lever 77 by pin 75) to move to the right in FIG. 5,. However, the end 73 of link 69 will not engage flange 79 of bell crank lever 55. Thus the manipulation of the outside door handle will. be ineffective for unlocking the door lock because the movement of link 69 will not cause lever 55 to pivot in a clockwise direction to free latch 80, as described in greater detail hereafter.

It is only after link 69 has been pivoted about pin 75 in a counterclockwise direction from its position shown in FIG. 5 as a result of either the evacuation ofmotor chamber 47 or the upward movement of pin 59-thatthe end 78 thereof may engage flange 79 when the outside door handle is manipulated. After end 78 of link 69 engages flange 79 of bell crank lever 55 in response to the movement of pin 76 to the right during a door unlatehing operation, lever 55 will pivot in a clockwise direction about pin 57 and the leg 81 (oflever 55) which is vvithin the recessed portion 82 of lever 83 will cause the latter to pivot in a counterclockwise direction about its pivot pin 84 against the bias of spring 85. This, in turn, will cause the tongue 86 of lever 83 to cease engagement with ratchet wheel 87 which is, in turn, coaxially mounted on shaft 88 with the rotary door latch 80. When the abovedescribed locking arrangement for the rotary door latch 80 is released through theoperation of the above-described linkage, latch 80 is free to move relative to the striker plate (not shown) on the door jamb to permit the vehicle door to be pulled to an open position.

From the foregoing description it can be seen that all of the door latch locks 46 are either power-locked or power-unlocked at all times while the vehicle is in operation, depending on the position of the selector switch 33. Further in this respect, it can readily be seen thatwhen 6. chamber 43 is evacua ed to; cause motorshaft- 45, to, as: sume its lowermost position, link 74. holds beli crank lever 60 (FIG. 6) downwardly with; a sufficient force to prevent door unlocking stem 59 which; is, also in engage: ment with bell crank lever 60 through link; 58, from. being; manually lifted upwardly. Because of the foregoing a rangement, children in the rear ofthe vehiclewill. not be able to lift door locking pins 59, this. being. prerequisite to the unlatching of the rear doors through the use of. inside door unlocking handles, 1;0,3 i. In order to prevent the actuation of locks 46 by the use of the, inside; deer: handles when the pins 59. are depressed, the locks, inthe rear doors may therefore incorporate the feature d.'- scribed in Patent No. 2,849,251. More specifically, in locks of this. type when the manual locking pins 59 (FIG. l) are depressed in the molding, bell crank lever ,9 will; pivot in a l kwi rect (F G. 6 a de cribed above. However, a, link 1.96 has one end pivotally: c i; nected to lever 60 and the other end thereof fastened as, by eye 107 to the end 110 of link 99,- which is attached, to the door handle 193. When lever 6,0: has p vQt l 1 3 clockwise direction, link E06 will cause the end 99 to occupy t tom at t e al r g n- 8. Qt r d slot 10 us. en ver nk 9 2 s m ed the right as it is during the manipulation 9f; handle 1513 h end 110 f link .9'W z me ly ri e id yin ho iz nta portion 111 of L -shaped slot 109 without pivotin lever 106 to actuate lever 55 for unlocking the leek 1n; the; manner described hereafter. Furthermore, as rnentio above, the holding force exerted by motors; 27' in the rear doors is of such a magnitude that it cannot be overcprne by manual lifting force on pin 59. Thus pins 5 9 in the rear doors can be raised only when the vacnum no; longer acting on motors 27- to cause the latch locks, to be placed in a locked condition.

However, in the front vehicle doors it is, desirable. to, permit the manual manipulation of inside deer; handles. 54' to override the locking effectof locking; meters 27'. When the foregoing is desired, link 106 (FIGS, 7,, 6, and 5) is omitted from the lock 46 so thatthere' no interconnection between bell crank lever 66 and l k; 99. Thus when the inside door handle 54 for the firont doors is manipulated, link 99 will be-ca se IQ mor K9: the right in FIG. 1. The end of this link is to lever (FIG. 7) which is pivot-ally mounted on. lock flange by pin 101. The connection between link 99 and lever 100 therefore in this instance, consists only of a simple pivotal connection and does not ineludt? 1 play connection 109-410 shown in FIG. 7 as described o a therefore h re a be o 0st mo qne ween elements 99 and 100. When link 99. is moved to the. right in IG- 1, e pp r end f e 1 0; h c s hooked about protruding portion 1,0; of bell crank lever 55) will move intothe plane of the drawing and cause bell crank 55 o p v in a c ckw d tss igriabout o n n p 5 n e eby au he t n 8.6 of l e 83 to cease engagement with: ratchet wheel 87 S9 th t the door may be opened, as described -al) ;ove. It a i y pp c d t at he le e age pb aiuablebv the manipulation of door handles 54' in the front; i of the vehicle is of a sufficiently large magnitude to were come the resistance which motOIS Z'T exert on; the doorlocking mechanism. More specifically, when ch 43 of motors 2,7 are evacuated, link 74 is pulled d n? wardly which causes lever 63 (FIG, 6), to be pivoted: in a counterclockwise direction which, in turnlh olds. link 69 in the position shown in FIG- 5. When handle. 54' is actuated, link 99 movesv to the right the top of lever 106 (FIG. 5) to nove into; the plane of the drawing to pivot lever 55- ina clockwise direction and therefore raise lever 83 from engagemen; vvit rat e e Ho e e e on 84' 0t leve $.3- ah the bottom 69' of link 69. Therefore link 69 must heraised againstthe bias exerted-by motor 27, but as noted above, the leverage obtainable by the manipulation of 7 door handle 54' is sufiicient to overcome this biasing force exerted by motors 27.

It is to be especially stressed, as discussed above, that both the front and rear doors are locked against opening from outside the vehicle whenever lock actuating motors 27 are actuated to a locking condition notwithstanding that the rear door locks are of such a construction which will prevent unlocking of the rear doors from within the vehicle and the front door locks are of such a construction which will permit unlocking of the door locks from within the vehicle.

In operation, if selector valve 33 is placed in a power Locking position, the operation described in the preceding paragraph will be obtained. However, as indicated previously, there are certain types of operation wherein it is desirable that the door locks be maintained in an unlocked condition at all times for the convenience of the vehicle operator, who might be either a salesman or one who is required to make a large number of passenger pickups. When such type of operation is desired, it is merely required that the vehicle operator manipulate the selector valve 33 and place it in a condition wherein the source of vacuum will be in communication with the motor chamber which maintains the door locks in an unlocked condition. Thus it will be assured that the door locks are unlocked at all times while the vehicle is in operation to permit passengers to enter the vehicle without requiring the vehicle operator or another passenger within the vehicle to open the doors, and also permit a salesman to leave the car by the front door and open any of the other vehicle doors from outside the vehicle to remove merchandise. In the event that the vehicle has been driven with the doors in a power unlocked condition and the vehicle operator desires to park the vehicle and lock it, he need merely move the selector valve 33 to a power locking position. This will lock all of the vehicle doors against opening from the outside. Thereafter the operator may open either of the front doors from within the vehicle in view of their abovedescribed construction. The doors which were not utilized in leaving the vehicle will remain in a locked condition and the vehicle operator need only relock, by the use of a key or by depressing the manual unlocking pin, the door lock in the door which was opened incidental to the operators leaving the vehicle.

It can readily be seen that either a locking or unlocking vacuum will be maintained on the door locking motors 27 when the vehicle operator is occupying the seat because communication between the vacuum source and the door locking motors 27 will be permitted through seat valve 20 (FIG. 2), as discussed above. However, when the operator leaves the seat, the valve 20 will return to the condition shown in FIG. 2 wherein the conduit 25, which previously caused communication between the vacuum source and the door locking motors, is vented and the other side of the door locking motors is vented through the venting arrangement described above in selector valve 33. Thus, when the vehicle operator is not occupying the front seat, the rear passengers will be able to actuate the rear door locks as if the door locking motors were not incorporated with the door locks. Furthermore in the event that the vehicle operator is the first to leave the vehicle and the operators seat is unoccupied when the other passengers leave, the doors through which the other passengers leave will remain unlocked notwithstanding that the selector valve is in a door locking position and either the vehicle engine is still in operation or a source of the vacuum exists in tank 15. In other Words, the fact that the vehicle operators seat is unoccupied causes entire deactuation of the system so that the door locking arrangement of the vehicle operates as if the automatic power locking or power unlocking was not present.

It will be noted that there is a slot 90 in the top of motor shaft45, this slot receiving the end of link 74.

Furthermore, a light spring 91 is interposed between flexible diaphragm 44 and the bottom of chamber 43. This arrangement permits the vehicle door which is used by the operator in leaving the vehicle to close after him without the lock returning to a locked condition. More specifically, after the operator leaves the seat, both chambers 43 and 47 of the door locking motor 27 are vented to the atmosphere, as described above. Under this condition light spring 91 will expand to cause the flexible diaphragm 44 to move to a position wherein the bottom of link 74 engages the bottom of slot 90. Thus when link 74 moves upwardly in response to the manipulation of the latch actuating linkage, there will be no sudden compression of the air in chamber 47 nor will there by any tendency to create a vacuum in chamber 43, which would tend to cause the diaphragm to deflect downwardly after the lock actuating force is removed. In other words, if the lost motion due to slot in shaft 45 were not present, the resilience of the air in chambers 43 and 47 of motor 27 would tend to cause locking motor 27 to return to a locking condition if it were in a locking position when the latch was manually actuated from within the vehicle.

It is to be also noted that after the vehicle engine is shut ofi the vacuum in manifold 12 and conduit 13 will no longer exist. However, since check valve 14 closes, as mentioned above, tank 15 will remain in an evacuated condition and the vacuum therein will be sufflcient to enable the vehicle operator to effect a plurality of door lock actuations while the vehicle engine is not in operation. In this respect it can readily be seen that if the vehicle operator shut off the engine while selector valve 33 was in a continuous unlocking position, he could lock all the door locks by moving the selector valve to a locking condition, the existence of vacuum in tank 15 providing the necessary power for effecting the locking operation. The converse is also true. If for any reason the locks have been maintained in a locked condition during vehicle operation, they can be moved to an unlocked condition after the vehicle engine is shut off by the manipulation of selector valve 33', the vacuum within tank 15 providing the necessary power for motor actuation. The tank 15, as noted above, is of suflicient capacity to permit a plurality of cycles of lock operation thereby obviating the necessity for starting the vehicle engine every time door lock actuation is desired.

It can also be seen, as mentioned above, that when the vehicle operator leaves the seat, poppet valve 23 in seat valve 20 will close the end of conduit '17 leading from vacuum tank 15, this action conserving the vacuum Within tank 15 for subsequent operation of the system when the vehicle engine is off, as when a vehicle operator returns to the vehicle and desires to remotely unlock all of the doors of a locked vehicle prior to starting the vehicle engine.

While a preferred embodiment of the present inven tion has been disclosed, it can readily be understood that it is not limited thereto, but may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A door lock actuating system for an automotive vehicle comprising a plurality of doors in said vehicle, latch locks in each of said doors, motor means coupled to each of said latch locks, a source of fluid pressure in said vehicle, conduit means coupling said motor means to said fluid pressure source, manually actuatable valve means in said conduit means for causing said motor means to communicate with said fluid pressure source to cause said motor means to exert a continuous locking force on said latch locks after said manually actuatable valve means have once been actuated to a locking position and released or for causing said motor means to communicate with said fluid pressure source to cause said motor means to exert a continuous unlocking force on said latch locks after said manually actuatable valve means have once beenactuated to an unlocking position and released, and means for maintaining said latch locks in the condition in which they were last placed after'saidmotor means are no longerexertinga force on said latch locks.

2. A door lock actuating system for an automotive vehicle comprising a plurality of doors in said vehicle, latch locks in each of said doors, motor means coupled to each of said latch locks, a source of energy in said vehicle, means for coupling said motormeans to said source of energy, and selectively operable manually actuatable energy transferring means associated with said last-mentioned means for causing said motor means to communicate with said energy source to exert either a continuous latch-locking force on said door locks after said manually actuatable energy transferring means have once been actuated to a locking position and released or a continuous latch unlocking force on said latch locks after said manually actuatable energy transferring means have once been actuated to an unlocking position and released.

3. A door lock actuating system for an automotive vehicle having an engine comprising a plurality of doors in said vehicle, latch locks in each of said doors, motor means coupled to each of said latch locks, a source of fluid pressure in said vehicle, conduit means coupling said motor means to said source of fluid pressure, selectively operable manually actuatable valve means in said conduit means for causing said motor means either to communicate with said fluid pressure source to automatically exert -a continuous locking force on said latch locks or to communicate with said fluid pressure source to automatically exert a continuous unlocking force on said latch locks in response to the operation of said engine, and means for causing said manually actuatable valve means to maintain said communication between said fluid pressure source and said motor means to cause said motor means to maintain either of said forces on said latch lock until said valve means are manually actuated to cause said motor means to place the other of said forces on said latch lock.

4. A door lock actuating system for an automotive vehicle having an engine comprising a plurality of doors in said vehicle, latch locks in each of said doors, motor means coupled to each of said latch looks, a source of fluid pressure in said vehicle, conduit means coupling said motor means to said source of fluid pressure, and selectively operable manually actuatable valve means in said conduit means for causing said motor means to either communicate with said fluid pressure source to automatically exert a continuous locking force after said manually actuatable valve means have once been actuated to a locking position and released or to communicate with said fluid pressure source to exert a continuous unlocking force on said latch locks after said manually actuatable valve means have once been actuated'to an unlocking position and released.

5. A door lock actuating system as set forth in claim 4 wherein said vehicle has a front door and a rear door and wherein said latch locks include a first latch lock in said front door and a second latch lock in said rear door, first inside manual latch lock operating means in said front door, second inside manual latch lock operating means in said rear door, means operatively associated with said rear door to prevent unlocking of said second latch look by the use of said second manual latch operating means when said motor means exerts a door locking force, and means operatively associated with said first latch lock to permit the unlocking of said first latch lock by the use of said first manual latch operating means notwithstanding that said motor means exerts a locking force thereon.

6. A door lock actuating system as set forth in claim 4 wherein said door lock actuating system includes valve means for venting said door locking motors when said vehicle is unoccupied to thereby cause said door locking motors 10 to cease exerting a force on said: latch locks to thereby permit independent manual operation thereof.

7. A door lock actuating system for an automotivevehicle comprising a plurality of doors in said vehicle, a

latch lock ineach of said doors, a source of fluid pressure in said vehicle, double acting motor means having first and second chambers therein coupled to each of said latch locks, conduit means coupling said first and second chambers to said source of fluid pressure, two-way manually actuatable valve means in said conduit means for causing said first or second chambers of said motor means to communicate with said source of fluid pressure to continuously actuate said door locking motors to a latchlocking condition when said first chamber is in communication with said fluid pressure source afiter said manually actuatable valve means have once been actuated to a locking position and released or continuously actuatesaid door locking motors to an unlocking condition when said second chamber is in communication with said fluid pressure source, after said manually actuatable valve means have once been actuated to an unlocking position and released, and vent means operatively associated with said valve means for effecting venting of the chamber in said motor means which is not in communication with said fluid pressure source through said two-way manually actuatable valve means.

8. A door lock actuating system as set forth in claim 7 including a seat valve responsive to the weight of the vehicle operator for permitting communication between said first or second motor chambers and said source of vacuum when the vehicle seat is occupied and for sealing oii said source of vacuum from said chamber and venting said chamber to the atmosphere when said vehicle seat is unoccupied whereby said first and second chambers of said motor means are vented to the atmosphere when said seat is unoccupied to thereby permit manual actuation of said latch locks without resistance from said motors.

9. A door lock actuating system for an automotive vehicle comprising a plurality of doors in said vehicle, latch locks in each of said doors, motor means coupled to each of said latch locks, a source of fluid pressure in said vehicle, conduit means coupling said motor means to said fluid pressure source, selectively operable manually actu- =atable valve means in said conduit means for causing said motor means to automatically exert a continuous locking force on said latch looks after said manually actuatable valve means have once been actuated to a locking position and released, manual means in said door for unlocking said latch locks against the bias of said motor means during a door opening operation, and means for preventing the trapping of fluid in said motor means from returning said latch lock to a locked condition upon the release of said manual means whereby inadvertent locking of the vehicle doors behind a departing person is prevented.

10. A door lock actuating system for an automotive vehicle comprising a plurality of doors in said vehicle, lock means in each of said doors, fluid pressure motor means operatively coupled to each of said lock means, a source of fluid pressure in said vehicle, first conduit means for permitting communication between said fluid pressure motor means and said source of fluid pressure, second conduit means for permitting communication between said fluid pressure motor means and said source of fluid pressure, manual selectively operable valve means operative- :ly associated with both said first and second conduit means for causing said fluid pressure motormeans to either communicate with said fluid pressure source through said first conduit means to actuate said fluid pressure motor in a first direction or for causing said fluid pressure motor means to communicate with said fluid pressure source through said second conduit means to actuate said fluid pressure motor in a second direction, and means operatively associated with said manual selectively operable valve means for causing said manual selectively operable valve means to remain in a first position after said manual selectively operable valve means are manually'placed in said first position whereby said manual selectively operable valve means effects said communication between said fluid pressure source and said fluid pressure motor means to thereby cause said motor means to remain actuated in said first direction to thereby maintain a continuous locking force on said door lock means, said means operatively associated with said manual selectively operable valve means causing said manual selectively operable valve means to remain in a second position after said manual selectively operable valve means are manually placed in said second position whereby said manual selectively operable valve means effects communication between said fluid pressure source and said fluid pressure motor means through said second conduit means to thereby cause said fiuid pressure motor means to remain actuated in said second direction to thereby maintain a continuous unlock- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,198,862 Chesler Apr. 30, 1940 2,344,826 LeGresley Mar. 21, 1944 2,505,401 Ingres Apr. 25, 1950 2,799,154 Beal July 16, 1957 2,888,287 Taylor May 26, 1959 OTHER REFERENCES Automotive Industries, Sept. 15, 1959, page 57, article titledDoor Locks.

Claims (1)

1. A DOOR LOCK ACTUATING SYSTEM FOR AN AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF DOORS IN SAID VEHICLE, LATCH LOCKS IN EACH OF SAID DOORS, MOTOR MEANS COUPLED TO EACH OF SAIT LATCH LOCKS, A SOURCE OF FLUID PRESSURE IN SAID VEHICLE, CONDUIT MEANS COUPLING SAID MOTOR MEANS TO SAID FLUID PRESSURE SOURCE, MANUALLY ACTUATABLE VALVE MEANS IN SAID CONDUIT MEANS FOR CAUSING SAID MOTOR MEANS TO COMMUNICATE WITH SAID FLUID PRESSURE SOURCE TO CAUSE SAID MOTOR MEANS TO EXERT A CONTINUOUS LOCKING FORCE ON SAID LATCH LOCKS AFTER SAID MANUALLY ACTUATABLE VALVE MEANS HAVE ONCE BEEN ACTUATED TO A LOCKING POSITION AND RELEASED OR FOR CAUSING SAID MOTOR MEANS TO COMMUNICATE WITH SAID FLUID PRESSURE SOURCE TO CAUSE SAID MOTOR MEANS TO EXERT A CONTINUOUS UNLOCKING FORCE ON SAID LATCH LOCKS AFTER SAID MANUALLY ACTUATABLE VAVLE MEANS HAVE ONCE BEEN ACTUATED TO AN UNLOCKING POSITION AND RELEASED AND MEANS FOR MAINTAINING SAID LATCH LOCKS IN THE CONDITION IN WHICH THEY WERE LAST PLACED AFTER SAID MOTOR MEANS ARE NO LONGER EXERTING A FORCE ON SAID LATCH LOCKS.

Images