Aug. 25, 1964 A. L. ERxcsoN 3,146,021

cLosuRE: LATCH Filed NOV. 24, 1961 INVENTOR. @/e/ H6502? BY Maf/M ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,146,021 CLOSURE LATCH Y Albert L. Ericson, Detroit, Mich., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 24, 1961, Ser. No. 154,427 3 Claims. (Cl. 296-106) This invention relates to closure latches and more particularly to closure latches for station wagon bodies having a tail gate and a tail gate window movable between open and closed positions.

Many current station wagon bodies include a tail gate having a window movable into and out of the tail gate between open and closed positions, with the window being received within xed guides on the body in the closed position thereof. In an arrangement such as this, it is necessary to prevent release of the tail gate unless the window is in an open position in order to prevent damage to the window should it be located within the guides and the operator tries to release the latch means and open the tail gate.

The closure latch of this invention is particularly intended for use with station wagon bodies of this type and generally includes a handle which must move within the plane of the window in order to release the latch means and allow the tail gate to be opened. By providing a handle of this type in combination with cooperating latch operating means, the latch means for the tail gate cannot be released unless the window is in an open position.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved closure latch. Another object of this invention is to provide an improved closure latch for station wagon bodies including a tail gate and a tail gate window movable between open and closed positions into and out of the tail gate, with the window being received within fixed guides on the body when in the closed position thereof. A further object of this invention is to provide a closure latch for a closure and a closure window movable into and out of the closure, with the closure latch including operating means which must move within the plane of the window to thereby prevent release of the closure latch unless the window is in an open position within the closure.

These and other objects of the invention will be readily apparent from the following specification and drawings wherein:

FIGURE l is a partial rear elevational view of a station wagon body having a tail gate movable between open and closed positions and a tail gate window mounted on the tail gate for movement betweenopen and closed positions into and out of the tail gate, with the tail gate embodying a closure latch according to this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along the plane indicated by line 2-2 of FIGURE l; and

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view.

Referring now particularly to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, a station wagon body lt includes a tail gate 12 which is hinged adjacent its lower edge 14 to body 10 for movement between a closed position, as shown, and an open position, not shown. A vertically movable tail gate window 16 is mounted on the tail gate 12 by suitable window regulator mechanism for movement between a closed position within the tail gate 12 and an open or partially open position, as shown, wherein the side edge portions of the window are received within fixed channel guides 1S of body 10.

In order to prevent any damage to the window 16, should the window be in a closed or partially closed position and it is desired to open the tail gate, this invention 3,146,021 Patented Aug. 25, 1964 provides a closure latch which positively prevents any release of the tail gate latches unless the window 16 is in a fully open position within the tail gate 12.

Referring now particularly to FIGURES 2 and 3 of the drawings, the tail gate 12 includes an inner panel 20, a reinforcing panel 22, and a bracing panel 24. A generally U-shaped bracket 26 has the legs thereof secured to panel 22 and mounts a stud or pivot 28 which swingably supports an operating member or lever 30 intermediate the ends thereof. A coil torsion spring 32 interconnecting the lever 30 and the bracket 26 holds the lever in a general vertically disposed position, as shown, and resists rotational movement thereof. A lateral ear at the lower end of the lever is pivoted at 34 to a shiftable link 36 and an offset lateral ear at the upper end of the lever is pivoted at 38 to a similar shiftable link 40. As shown in FIGURE 1, links 36 and 40 pivotally interconnect the lever 30 with the tail gate latches 42 which are conventional and of known construction, the details of which are not shown since they form no part of this invention.

A channel bracket 44 includes a pair of opposite apertured ears 46 which are pivoted by a pivot pin 48 to a pair of lateral ears 50 of lever 30 which are located intermediate the upper and lower ends of the lever and above the pivot 28 thereof. A coil torsion spring 52 surrounds the pivot pin 48 and has one end thereof bearing against the bracket 44 and the other end thereof bearing against the lever 30 to normally hold the bracket 44 in its full line position, as shown, with respect to the lever 30. An offset operating member or handle 54 has a lower end thereof welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the base of bracket 44 and includes an upper generally U-shaped portion 56 which terminates immediately adjacent the inner surface of the window 16 in its closed position, FIGURE 2, and is provided with a knob 58. The portion 56 eX- tends inwardly into body 10 from the tail gate 12 through an arcuate slot 60 in panel 24 and similar aligned slots in the panels 20 and 22.

Movement of the handle 54 to the right, as viewed in FIGURE 3, will swing the handle and the lever 30 as a unit clockwise about the pivot 28 to thereby shift link 40 to the right and link 36 to the left and release the side latches 42.

In order to prevent such movement of the handle and lever as a unit when the window 16 is in a closed position, a lanced bent tab 62 is provided on panel 24 immediately adjacent the handle 54. Thus, the handle 54 cannot be moved to the right unless it is first moved out of the path of the tab 62. As indicated in dot-dash lines in FIGURE 2, the handle 54 can be pivoted inwardly of the tail gate 12 about the pin 48 and against the action of the spring 52 until the handle is moved to a position 54 wherein it is located out of the path of the tab 62. When the handle is in this position, the handle and lever 30 can be operated as previously set forth to release the latches 42. However, should the window 16 be in a closed or partially closed position, the handle cannot be moved to its position 54 since the portion 56 of the handle will engage window 16 and cannot be moved within the plane of the Window. Accordingly, the latches 42 cannot be released.

Thus, this invention provides a new and improved closure latch for station wagon bodies including a tail gate and a tail gate window movable into and out of the tail gate between open and closed positions wherein it is desired to hold the tail gate in a closed latched position unless the window is in a fully open position.

What is claimed is:

l. In a vehicle body including a closure movable between open and closed positions and having a window opening therein, a window mounted on said closure for movement between open and closed positions with respect to said opening, and latch means for latching said closure to said body, the combination comprising, latch operating means movably mounted on said closure and operatively connected to said latch means for release thereof upon movement of said operating means, an operating member, means operatively connecting said member to said operating means for movement independently thereof between rst and second positions and movement therewith as a unit while in both said positions to release said latch means, means preventing movement of said member and said operating means as a unit when said member is in said first position, and means on said member movable into said window opening when said member is moved from said first position to said second position, said window preventing movement of said member to said second position when said window is in said closed position within said window opening.

2. In a vehicle body including a closure movable between open and closed positions and having a window opening therein, a Window mounted on said closure for movement between open and closed positions with respect to said opening, and latch means for latching said closure to said body, the combination comprising, latch operating means movably mounted on said closure and operatively connected to said latch means for release thereof upon movement of said operating means, an operating member, means operatively connecting said member to said operating means for movement independently thereof between a first position out of the plane of said window opening and a second position within the plane of said window opening and movement therewith as a unit while in said first and second positions to release said latch means, means preventing movement of said member and said operating means as a unit when said member is in said first position, said window preventing movement of said member from said rst position to said second position when said window is in said closed position within said window opening.

3. In a vehicle body including a closure movable between open and closed positions and having a window opening therein, a window mounted on said closure for movement between open and closed positions with respect to said opening, and latch means for latching said closure to said body, the combination comprising, latch operating means movably mounted on said closure and operatively connected to said latch means for release thereof upon movement of said operating means, an operating member, means swingably mounting said member on said operating means for movement independently thereof between first and second positions and movement therewith as a unit while in both said positions to release said latch means, means preventing movement of said member and said operating means as a unit when said member is in said first position, and means on said member movable into said window opening when said member is moved from said first position to said second position, said window preventing movement of said member to said second position when said window is in said closed position within said window opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,239,899 Gardner Sept. 11, 1917 1,788,999 Gorsuch et al Tan. 13, 1931 2,959,448 Bogater et al Nov. 8, 1960