US3112947A

US3112947A - Automobile door safety lock mechanism

Info

Publication number: US3112947A
Authority: US
Inventors: Tracy L Carpenter
Original assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
Current assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
Priority date: 1959-01-28
Filing date: 1959-01-28
Publication date: 1963-12-03
Anticipated expiration: 1980-12-03

Description

Dec. 3, 1963 T. CARPENTER 3,112,947

AUTOMOBILE DOOR SAFETY LOCK MECHANISM Filed Jan. 28, 1959 TPAC Y L. CARPENTER United States Patent 3,112,947 AUTOMOBILE DOOR SAFETY LOCK MECHANISM Tracy L. Carpenter, Oceanside, N.Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 28, 1959, Ser. No. 789,671 Claims. (Cl. 292-280) This invention relates to a safety door latch mechanism for an automobile door, and is a continuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 521,694 filed July 13, 1955, now abandoned.

Latch mechanisms of the rotary bolt type have become standard equipment on automobiles. Such latch mechanisms, in general, include a latch member carried by a door having a rotary bolt with radial projections or teeth thereon for meshing engagement when the door is closed corresponding with teeth on the keeper or striker member which is mounted on the door frame. The teeth of the rotary bolt mesh with the teeth of the striker and are prevented from rotatable disengagement by a releasable detent in the form of a pawl and ratchet. In my prior application filed July 13, 1955, Serial No. 521,694, on an Automobile Door Lock Mechanism, there is described a latch mechanism having an interlock feature which includes a disc which is adapted to bridge or overlap the teeth of the engaged striker and rotary bolt. When the door is in the closed position, the interlock serves to prevent lateral disengagement of the rotary bolt and the striker. This type of interlock is effective in preventing lateral disengagements, if the forces tending to cause such disengagements such as those caused by some collision impacts are substantially parallel to the path of lateral disengagement.

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a safety lock which is an improvement of such locks. In its preferred embodiment the invention involves the use of an interlock comprising a C-shaped striker which receives a rotary toothed bolt provided with a releasable detent .to prevent rotation of the bolt. A portion of the inner edge of the C-shaped striker is provided with projections or teeth adapted to engage the teeth of the rotary bolt. The teeth of the striker are adapted to mesh with the teeth of the bolt and are prevented from pulling apart laterally or in any direction lengthwise of the automobile by a disc or plate which overlaps the entire recess of the C-shaped striker in engaged position with the bolt. Cooperation between the disc and the C-shaped striker restrains separation even for cantin-g or tipping movements due to collisions. Accidental disengagement along the normal path of opening and closing of the door is prevented by a conventional manually releasable detent lo ck mechanism. Accordingly, a lock of the invention will prevent all accidcntal disengagements within the structural limits of the component elements.

It is another purpose of this invention to provide a safety lock which will not jam in the closed position. This purpose is accomplished by assuring that the respective teeth of the striker and rotary bolt are not jammed into a non-rotatable position by distortion or by any other member .of the lock assembly becoming wedged between the engaged teeth to prevent rotatable disengagement of the teeth. This feature of the invention is significant in enabling doors jammed due to collision, thereby trapping the passengers within the vehicle, to be yanked or pried open even though the door is wedged within the door frame.

One embodiment of the invention -will now be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

ICC

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the latch member in engaged position with the striker;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the latch device; and

FIG. 3 shows the exposed face of the striker.

Referring now to the drawing, latch support 10 is attached by screws through holes 10a to the exposed or free vertical edge of a door of an automobile. The door and door frame are not shown since their relation to the lock device has been described in detail in my above mentioned application. On the latch member is rotatably mounted a roller gear 111 having a plurality of radial projections or teeth 11a. The shaft 12a of the roller gear is journalled in plate 13 of latch member 10. Advantageously, a circular shim 10b is positioned behind roller gear 11 to prevent roller gear 11 from binding against plate 13. Within the door assembly a conventional manually releasable detent lock mechanism (not shown but of the type disclosed in my copending application, more particularly drawing FIG. 5 thereof) is under control of manually operated push buttons or levers to release roller gear 11 for free rotation. A circular disc or plate 14 is rigidly connected to the shaft 12a of roller gear 11 by an externally threaded bolt extension 14a which is screwed into the internally threaded portion 12 of shaft 12a. Alternatively, the disc 14 may be integrally formed by welding or casting with the shaft 12a and the roller gear 11. Mounted on the plate 13 or integrally formed therewith is an elongated dovetail 15 of sheet metal.

Striker 16 is mounted with the face shown in FIG. 2 against the jamb face of the door frame contiguous therewith with screws through holes 17. Striker 16 includes an arm 31 having at least two toothlike projections 18 the spaces between which receive the teeth 11a of roller gear 11. The width of teeth 18 is preferably narrower than the width of teeth 11a on roller gear 11 to reduce the jamming effect which may occur if the striker 16 and latch support 10, particularly, roller gear 11, are twisted relative to each other. The lower C-shaped arm portion 19 of striker 16, coplanar with teeth 18 on arm 3-1, forms an opening or mouth 20 which is sufiicient to receive roller gear 11 but is smaller than the diameter of disc 14. A plate 23 is attached to the inner face (as seen in FIG. 2) of the striker 16 by screws 24. Plate 23 is not coextensive with striker portion 19 but is narrower to form a stepped recess 30 for the reception, between the striker and the jamb, of the disc 14, and to that end, plate 23 is of a thickness somewhat greater than that of disc 14. The thickness of plate 23 and portion 19 will of course be greater than the width of the roller gear 11 and the disc 14. FIG. 3 shows the face of striker 16 as would be normally exposed after mounting on the door frame.

In a portion of upper recess 21 of striker 16 a wedge 22 is slidably carried on a spring loaded shaft 22a as better seen in FIG. 3. The upper recess 21 is tapered to receive, in a wedging action, dovetail 15 on the door mounted latch member 10. Coaction of wedge 22 and dovetail 15 serves to prevent the door rattling within the door frame when the lock is engaged but is not essential to the invention.

In operation, assuming an open door, latch member 10, mounted on the free edge of the door, is swung toward the right as viewed in FIG. 2 to engage striker 16 mounted on the door frame. The roller gear 11 engaging teeth 18 of striker 16 will rotate counter-clockwise by ratchet action thereby allowing roller gear 11 to be rolled into recess 20. The inward movement of the door is limited by the inner circular portion of recess 20 engaging the ends of teeth 11a. In the alternative, the limiting inward movement of the door may be accomplished by appropriate design of the dovetail 15, wedge 22 and the upper recess 21 so that the teeth ends of roller gear 11 need not engage the inner portion of recess 20. To open the door the roller gear 11 is released for free rotation from its locked position by a conventional lever or a plunger (not shown but shown and described in my copending application). The door is then allowed to be swung open by free rotation of the roller gear 11 in a clockwise direction. Thus, any accidental opening of the door is prevented unless the roller gear is released for free rotation by manual operation of the release mechanism. Longitudinal disengagement of the teeth on the roller gear 11 from the teeth 18 on the striker 16, that is, in a general direction axially of shaft '12, is prevented by the inner or unexposed face of the disc 14 engaging the unexposed face of the C-shaped portion of the striker. Vertical disengagement of the striker teeth from roller gear teeth is prevented by the lower arm portion 19 engaging the roller gear teeth opposite those in mesh with the teeth 18 of the upper arm portion.

In the event of an accident causing torsional stress in the automobile body tending to spring the door open, a door lock mechanism constructed according to the invention, will have the striker plate restrained laterally and vertically from toothed disengagement from the bolt by means of two integrally formed arms spaced vertically from each other and projecting into opposite sides of the bolt, so that any canting or tipping movement is resisted by holding the striker plate in position at two spaced locations.

Thus, any tendency of the striker plate to rotate about the axis of either the striker arm carrying the roller gear engaging projections or the lower arm is etfectively restrained.

In the event that the door due to impact of collision is wedged within the door frame, the safety lock of the invention cannot be jammed in the closed or engaged position since the teeth of the roller gear in mesh with the striker teeth can be twisted with respect to each other, as the striker teeth in the preferred form are thinner than the roller gear teeth. Thus, any twisting motion of the striker relative to axis of the gear will allow the thinner striker projections to rotate within the spaces between the roller gear teeth without jamming. In addition, since the teeth are enclosed within the described recess, other members of the automobile or the lock assembly are not apt to be forced therein and thereby become entangled between the teeth. If a collision does cause a wedged door, the detent may be released and the door may be yanked or pried open since the teeth of the roller gear are free to disengage the striker teeth freely.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the form shown and described but that various modifications may be made to this form and without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Vehicle door latching apparatus of the character described, including: a bolt movable about an axis, said bolt having a plurality of radially projecting gear-like bolt teeth extending at least partially around its periphcry; a bolt interlock member comprising a disk rigidly mounted on said bolt immediately adjacent the outer face thereof for movement therewith about said axis, said disk having a diameter at least as great as the addendum circle of said bolt; a striker having a body with a plurality of tooth-like projections extending therefrom for meshing engagement with the teeth of said bolt, and a striker interlock portion projecting from said body in the plane of said tooth-like projections formed to provide, in cooperation with said tooth-like projections, a C-shaped recess to receive said bolt, said tooth-like projections defining one boundary arm of said C-shaped recess, said disk overlapping said tooth-like projections and said striker interlock portion and being equally spaced from each to prevent separation of said bolt teeth from said toothlike projections in a direction extending axially of said bolt.

2. Vehicle door latching apparatus of the character described, including: a rotatable bolt having a plurality of radially projecting gear-like bolt teeth extending at least partially around its periphery; a bolt interlock member comprising a disk rigidly mounted on said bolt immediately adjacent the outer face thereof for rotation therewith, said disk having a diameter at least as great as the addendum circle of said bolt; a striker having a body with a plurality of tooth-like projections extending therefrom for meshing engagement with the teeth of said bolt, and a striker interlock portion projecting from said body in the plane of said tooth-like projections formed to provide, in cooperation with said tooth-like projections, a C-shaped recess to receive said bolt, said tooth-like projections defining one boundary arm of said C-shaped recess, said disk lying out of the plane of the tooth-like projections and the interlock portion and overlapping said tooth-like projections and said striker interlock portion and being equally spaced from each to prevent separation of said bolt teeth from said tooth-like projections in a direction extending axially of said bolt.

3. Vehicle door latching apparatus of the character described, including: a rotatable bolt having a plurality of symmetrical equally spaced radially projecting gearlike bolt teeth extending around its periphery; a bolt interlock member comprising a disk rigidly mounted on said bolt immediately adjacent the outer face thereof for rotation therewith, said disk having a diameter at least as great as the addendum circle of said bolt; a striker having a body with a plurality of tooth-like projections extending therefrom for meshing engagement with the teeth of said bolt, and a striker interlock portion projecting from said body in the plane of said tooth-like projections formed to provide, in cooperation with said toothlike projections, a C-shaped recess to receive said bolt, said tooth-like projections defining one boundary arm of said C-shaped recess, said disk overlapping said toothlike projections and said striker interlock portion and being equally spaced from each to prevent separation of said bolt teeth from said tooth-like projections in a direction extending axially of said bolt.

4. Apparatus of the character claimed in claim 3, wherein said striker interlock portion is formed integrally with the striker body from which it projects.

5. Vehicle door latching apparatus of the character described, including a shaft, a rotatable bolt carried by said shaft, said bolt having a plurality of radially projecting gear-like bolt teeth extending at least partially around its periphery; a bolt interlock member comprising a disk carried by said shaft immediately adjacent the outer face of said bolt, means for preventing axial separation of said disk from said bolt, said disk having a diameter at least as great as the addendum circle of said bolt; a striker having a body with a plurality of tooth-like projections extending therefrom for meshing engagement with the teeth of said bolt,and a striker interlock portion projecting from said body in the plane of said toothlike projections formed to provide, in cooperation with said tooth-like projections, a C-shaped recess to receive said bolt, said tooth-like projections defining one boundary arm of said C-shaped recess, said disk overlapping said tooth-like projections and said striker interlock portion and being equally spaced from each to prevent separation of said bolt teeth from said tooth-like projections in a direction extending axially of said bolt.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,814,193 Roethel Nov. 26, 1957 2,931,677 De Vito et a1 Apr. 5, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 789,282 Great Britain Jan. 15, 1958

Claims

1. VEHICLE DOOR LATCHING APPARATUS OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, INCLUDING: A BOLT MOVABLE ABOUT AN AXIS, SAID BOLT HAVING A PLURALITY OF RADIALLY PROJECTING GEAR-LIKE BOLT TEETH EXTENDING AT LEAST PARTIALLY AROUND ITS PERIPHERY; A BOLT INTERLOCK MEMBER COMPRISING A DISK RIGIDLY MOUNTED ON SAID BOLT IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT THE OUTER FACE THEREOF FOR MOVEMENT THEREWITH ABOUT SAID AXIS, SAID DISK HAVING A DIAMETER AT LEAST AS GREAT AS THE ADDENDUM CIRCLE OF SAID BOLT; A STRIKER HAVING A BODY WITH A PLURALITY OF TOOTH-LIKE PROJECTIONS EXTENDIN THEREFROM FOR MESHING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE TEETH OF SAID BOLT, AND A STRIKER INTERLOCK PORTION PROJECTING FROM SAID BODY IN THE PLANE OF SAID TOOTH-LIKE PROJECTIONS FORMED TO PROVIDE, IN COOPERATION WITH SAID TOOTH-LIKE PROJECTIONS, A C-SHAPED RECESS TO RECEIVE SAID BOLT, SAID TOOTH-LIKE PROJECTIONS DEFINING ONE BOUNDARY ARM OF SAID C-SHAPED RECESS, SAID DISK OVERLAPPING SAID TOOTH-LIKE PROJECTIONS AND SAID STRIKER INTERLOCK PORTION AND BEING EQUALLY SPACED FROM EACH TO PREVENT SEPARATION OF SAID BOLT TEETH FROM SAID TOOTHLIKE PROJECTIONS IN A DIRECTION EXTENDING AXIALLY OF SAID BOLT.