US3596956A

US3596956A - Door locking device

Info

Publication number: US3596956A
Application number: US853427A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kohichi Yoshie
Original assignee: Toyota Motor Corp
Current assignee: Toyota Motor Corp
Priority date: 1968-08-31
Filing date: 1969-08-27
Publication date: 1971-08-03
Anticipated expiration: 1988-08-03

Abstract

A door locking device wherein a rotary member in which a latch and step are formed is secured to a shaft pivoted rotatably to a baseplate of the door locking device on the side of a door, the force of a spring energized in one direction around the shaft is applied to rotary member, and an engaging lever formed with a step to be engaged with the step of the rotary member is pivoted rotatably to the baseplate, engagement between the two steps being insured by the application of the force of a spring. Separately from the engaging lever, an unlocking lever is pivoted to the baseplate in such a manner that part of the unlocking lever and part of the engaging lever are disposed close to each other. The unlocking lever is provided with an elongated hole while the engaging lever is formed with an abutment at its adjoining edge over a section corresponding to the length of the elongated hole. A lateral pin is provided on a free end of a connecting rod related with one end of a locking lever pivoted to the baseplate, and this lateral pin is fitted into the elongated hole and protruded therefrom so as to contact the abutment of the engaging lever. Further, an automatic unlocking lever applied with resilient force so as to always abut against the engaging lever with one of its ends is pivoted to the baseplate, while the automatic unlocking lever is provided at the other end with a pawl to abut the lateral pin moved to such a position as not to contact the abutment provided on the engaging lever during the locking operation of the locking lever. But when locking operation is performed while the unlocking lever is maintained at an unlocking position at the time of the locking operation of the locking lever, the lateral pin fitted into the elongated hole of the unlocking lever is prevented from abutting against the pawl at the other end of the automatic unlocking lever even when the automatic unlocking lever is revolved.

Description

United States Patent [54] DOOR LOCKING DEVICE 4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 292/216, 292/336 [51 lnt. Cl. E05c 3/26 [50] Field of Search 292/280,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,370,681 3/1921 Bloxsom 292/336 2,806,727 9/1957 Johnstone 292/336 X 3,427,060 2/ 1969 Pennell 292/216 X Primary Examiner-Richard E. Moore Attorney-McGlew and Toren ABSTRACT: A door locking device wherein a rotary member in which a latch and step are formed is secured to a shaft pivoted rotatably to a baseplate of the door locking device on the side of a door. the force of a spring energized in one direction around the shaft is applied to rotary member, and an engaging lever formed with a step to be engaged with the step of the rotary member is pivoted rotatably to the baseplate, en gagement between the two steps being insured by the application of the force of a spring. Separately from the engaging lever, an unlocking lever is pivoted to the baseplate in such a manner that part of the unlocking lever and part of the engaging lever are disposed close to each other. The unlocking lever is provided with an elongated hole while the engaging lever is formed with an abutment at its adjoining edge over a section corresponding to the length of the elongated hole. A lateral pin is provided on a free end of a connecting rod related with one end of a locking lever pivoted to the baseplate, and this lateral pin is fitted into the elongated hole and protruded therefrom so as to contact the abutment of the engaging lever. Further, an automatic unlocking lever applied with resilient force so as to always abut against the engaging lever with one of its ends is pivoted to the baseplate, while the automatic unlocking lever is provided at the other end with a pawl to abut the lateral pin moved to such a position as not to contact the abutment provided on the engaging lever during the locking operation of the locking lever. But when locking operation is performed while the unlocking lever is maintained at an unlocking position at the time of the locking operation of the locking lever, the lateral pin fitted into the elongated hole of the unlocking lever is prevented from abutting against the pawl at the other end of the automatic unlocking lever even when the automatic unlocking lever is revolved.

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SHEET 3 HF Q WOW/c HI ATTORNEY$ PATENTED AUG 3 B7! saw u 0F 4 m w m m MM s kaH/cH/ ATTORNEY DOOR LOCKING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a door locking device.

I-Ieretofore it has been possible to lock a door without the use of a door key by interconnecting an engaging lever (or a member corresponding thereto) and a locking lever (or a member corresponding thereto) by means of a spring. According to this conventional technique, the locking lever in a locking state is not operated due to the force of a spring even when the engaging lever is revolved. Moreover, when the door is closed inadvertently with the door locking means left in a locking state while the door is kept open, the locking lever is operated in compliance with the revolution of the'engaging lever by the spring so that the locking state of the locking means is successfully released. In case, however, the revolving resistance of the locking lever is increased due to the rusting of a stem portion to the base plate of the locking lever, or in case the spring interconnecting the engaging lever and the locking lever is enfeebled, the desired object could not be achieved.

According to the present invention, the door lock releasing lever is interlocked with the engaging lever engaged with' the rotary member by means of a lateral pin only when a door has to be opened. Moreover, when the door is locked after moving the lateral pin to a locking position, the lateral pin is not contacted with the abutment of the engaging lever in spite of any attempt at opening the door by operating an outside handle, and the releasing lever is only raced, so that the door locking device can be prevented from breaking unwarrantably since any undesired force is prevented from being applied to the internal mechanism. When the door is to be locked without the use of a key, the door may be closed while keeping a pushbutton or pull of an outside handle of the door in an unlocking state after fastening the locking means when the door is kept open, with a result that the locking means is fastened both surely and automatically. Also, even when the door is closed accidentally while the locking means is kept fastened when the door is open, the pawl of the automatically unlocking lever depresses the lateral pin in a locking position in the elongated hole to an unlocking position therein, so that the locking means in the mentioned locking state is released to its unlocking state. The provision of the automatic unlocking lever instead of a spring in order to engage the engaging lever with the locking lever insures unfailing operation of the door locking device, which can be of a very simple mechanism as compared with its conventional counterparts in which cams, links and the like have been combined intricately. And the present device can be manufactured at small costs as an added benefit of the invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of this invention is to provide a new and improved door locking device wherein a rotary member in which a latch and step are formed is secured to a shaft pivoted rotatably to a base plate of the door locking device on the side of a door, the force of a spring energized in one direction around the shaft is applied to said rotary member, and an engaging lever formed with a step to be engaged with the step of said rotary member is pivoted rotatably to the baseplate, engagement between the two steps being insured by the application of the force of a spring. Separately from the engaging lever, an unlocking lever is pivoted to the baseplate in such a manner that part of the unlocking lever and part ofthe engag ing lever are disposed close to each other. The unlocking lever is provided with an elongated hole while the engaging lever is formed with an abutment at its adjoining edge over a section corresponding to the length of the elongated hole. A lateral pin is pivoted to a free end of a connecting rod related with one end of a locking lever pivoted to the baseplate, and this lateral pin is fitted into the elongated hole and protrudes therefrom so as to contact the abutment of the engaging lever. Further, an automatic unlocking lever applied with resilient force so as to always abut on the engaging lever with one ofits ends is pivoted to the baseplate, while the automatic unlocking lever is provided at the other end with a pawl to abut on the lateral pin moved to such a position as not to contact the abutment provided to the engaging lever during the locking operation of the locking lever. But when locking operation is made while the unlocking lever is maintained at an unlocking position at the time of the locking operation of the locking lever, the lateral pin fitted into the elongated hole of the unlocking lever is prevented from abutting on the pawl at the other end of the automatic unlocking lever even when the automatic unlocking lever is revolved.

A lever for unlocking a door of an automotive vehicle, for instance, is permitted to make interlocked operation with that of an engaging lever adapted to be engaged to a rotary member rotated integrally with a latch only when the door has to be opened. And the interlocking operation therebetween is prevented when the door has to be locked. Also, even when the door is closed after fastening the door locking device while the door is left open, the fastening of the device is released without fail as the lateral pin connected with one end of the locking lever in a locking position is depressed by means of the automatic unlocking lever. If required, the door may be closed while maintaining a push button or a pull of an outside handle of the door in an unlocking state after fastening the door locking device while the door is left open. Then the lateral pin is in an unlocking position and thus not in abutment with the pawl of the automatic unlocking lever, so that the automatic unlocking lever is raced, thus surely and automatically fastening the door locking device.

The present invention will now be described, both as to its organization and functions, according to embodiments as ap plied to an automotive vehicle and with reference to the attached drawings.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a front view of a door locking device of one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a crosssectional view taken along the plane of a line III-III in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view plotted to show the same embodiment in a working condition; and

FIG. 5 is a front view ofa second embodiment corresponding to FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A shaft 2 is pivotably supported in a baseplate 1 of a door locking device (hereinafter referred to simply as a baseplate). A rotary member 6 is fixedly provided on the shaft 2 (refer to FIGS. ll throughout 4) and formed integrally with the rotary member is a latch 4 and a step 5 with the latch arranged to engage a cylindrical striker 3 shown in FIG. 3 and secured on the side of a pillar. (FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the invention wherein a shaft 2 is pivotally mounted through a baseplate l, and the shaft 2 is provided at one end with a rotary member 6 provided with a step 5 and at the other end with a latch (not shown) arranged to engage a striker (not shown), so as to sandwich the baseplate 1 therebetween.) The force of a spring 7, energized in a counterclockwise direction around the shaft 2 is biased against the rotary member 6. An engaging lever 9 is provided with a step 8 which is engaged with the step 5 of the rotary member 6 and is pivoted on the baseplate I by means ofa shaft 10. Uninterrupted engagement between the

steps

8 and 5 of the engaging lever 9 and the rotary member 6, respectively, is insured by the application of the force of a spring 11 positioned about the shaft I0. An end ll5 of the engaging lever 9 is located close to an unlocking leg M of an indoor lock releasing lever 13 which is pivoted to the baseplate 1 by means ofa shaft 12. Separately from the engaging lever 9, an unlocking lever 16 is pivotally mounted on the shaft 10 supported on the baseplate 1 and the force ofa spring 11a acts on the unlocking lever. An end 17 of the unlocking lever 16 is coupled to an outside handle connecting rod 18 adapted to revolve the unlocking lever 16 around the shaft 10 by the operation of an outside handle (not shown). Part 241 of the unlocking lever 16 is located close to a part 201 of the engaging lever 9, and a lateral pin 19 is disposed on the side of the unlocking lever 16 at the adjoining portions of the levers while an abutment 20, arranged to abut against the lateral pin 19 is formed along one side of the engaging lever 9. Further, the lateral pin 19 is formed at a free end of a connecting rod 23 which is attached at its other end to locking lever 22 pivoted to the baseplate 1 by means of a shaft 21 and the lateral pin 19 protrudes from an elongated hole 24 perforated in the part 241 of the unlocking lever 16 so as to be movable therein in the longitudinal direction of the hole and to be abutted against the abutment 20. On the other hand, between the baseplate 1 and the locking lever 22, the locking lever is turned and stopped unfailingly at both ofits terminal positions from its change point by means ofa turnover spring 25 (which may be substituted by click means). The other end 22b of the locking lever 22 is revolved around the shaft 21 by the depression or pull of-a pushbutton provided at the inside of the door. The lateral pin 19 in the elongated hole 24 is related with a locking connecting rod 27 capable of moving it to locking and unlocking positions (the locking connecting rod 27 may be operated by being coupled with the indoor lock releasing lever 13). On the side of the engaging lever 9, the abutment 20 is formed over a length (a moving range of the lateral pin 19 in the elongated hole 24) corresponding to the length of the elongated hole 24. An automatic unlocking lever 31 is pivoted to the baseplate l by means of a shaft 32. The force of a spring 30 is supplied between the automatic unlocking lever 31 and the baseplate 1 so that one end 29 of the automatic unlocking lever 31 is always abutted on the back 28 of the engaging lever 9. Formed at the other end of the automatic unlocking lever 31 is a pawl 33 to be abutted on the lateral pin 19 at a free end of the connecting rod 23 moved to such a position (indicated by chain line in FIG. 1) as not to be contacted with the abutment 20 provided on the engaging lever 9 when the locking lever 22 is fastened. When the door is closed and locked while maintaining the unlocking lever 16 in an unlocking position (a position occupied as the unlocking lever 16 is revolved in a counterclockwise direction around the shaft 10, as indicated by chain line in FIG. 4) while the locking lever 22 is fastened (at a position indicated by chain line in FIG. 1), keyless locking is insured as the lateral pin 19 at the free end of the connecting rod 23 and fitted into the elongated hole 24 of the unlocking lever 16 is not abutted on the pawl 33 of the automatic unlocking lever 31 even when the unlocking lever 31 is revolved due to the revolution of the engaging lever 9 around the shaft 10 by the abutment of one end 29 of the unlocking lever 31 on the back 28 of the engaging lever 9.

On the other hand, when the door is to be locked by depressing the pushbutton on the inside of the door while the door is left open, the locking lever 22 is revolved in a clockwise. direction around the shaft 21, while the lateral pin 19 provided at the free end of the connecting rod 23 and fitted into the elongated hole 24 is moved to such a position (indicated by the chain line in FIG. 1) as to abut the pawl 33 of the automatic unlocking lever but not abutted on the abutment 20. By closing the door after thus insuring a locking condition, the rotary member 6 is rotated when the latch 4 is engaged with the striker 3 on the side of pillar, so that the step formed integrally with the latch 4 urges the step 8 of the engaging lever 9 upwardly, while the engaging lever 9 is revolved around the shaft and one end 29 of the automatic unlocking lever 31 is always abutted against the back 28 of the engaging lever 9 by means of the spring 30. Thus the automatic unlocking lever 31 is revolved around the shaft 32 along with the revolution of the engaging lever 9 in spite of the force of the spring 30. Thereafter the so-called lock cancelling operation is performed as its pawl 33 unfastens the lateral pin 19 at the locking position (indicated by the chain line in FIG. 1) by moving it to such a position as to contact the abutment 20, e.g., an unlocking position (indicated by solid lines in FIG. 1).

That is to say that looking is released when the door is closed after fastening the locking means within door.

Accordingly, when the mentioned keyless locking is required and the door is closed while maintaining a pushbutton or a pull of an outside handle (not shown) in an unlocking condition after fastening (as indicated by the chain line in FIG. 1) the locking means by depressing a pushbutton at the inside of the door while the door is left open, the unlocking lever 16 is revolved in a counterclockwise direction around the shaft 10 to an unlocking position, whereupon the lateral pin 19 at such a position as to abut the pawl 33 of the automatic unlocking lever 31 is retracted to such an unlocking position (indicated by chain line in FIG. 4) as not to be contacted with the pawl when the automatic unlocking lever 31 is revolved around the shaft 32. Thereafter the step 5 of the rotary member 6 urges the step 8 of the engaging lever 9 up wardly due to the revolution of the rotary member 6 so that the engaging lever 9 is revolved in a counterclockwise direction around the shaft 10 and further the back 28 of the engaging lever 9 swings upwardly and revolves one end 29 of the automatic unlocking lever 31. In this instance, the lateral pin 19 is kept at the unlocking position, as described above, so that the pawl 33 is not in contact with the lateral pin 19 even when the automatic unlocking lever 31 is revolved around the shaft 32 as indicated by the chain line in FIG. 4. Thus the door is locked automatically as the lateral pin 19 is prevented from being depressed to the unlocking position (indicated by the solid lines in FIG. 1).

In other words, the locking means inside the door is kept locked when the door is closed while maintaining the pushbutton or pull of the outside handle in an unlocked condition after fastening the locking means while the door is open.

According to the above structure, even when, after fastening the door locking device, the pull or pushbutton of the outside handle of the door is operated, that is, the unlocking lever 16 is revolved in a counterclockwise direction around the shaft 10, the lateral pin 19 is moved to the unlocking position (indicated by the chain line in FIG. 4) and the unlocking lever 16 is raced around the shaft 10, so that a locked state is maintained without any interlocked operation of the engaging lever 9 and without any application of unnecessary force to the internal mechanism of the door lock.

Next, when the door locking device has to be unfastened from its locked state and, therefore, the pushbutton 26 is pulled from the inside of the door or a locking connecting rod (not shown) other than the locking connecting rod 27 is operated from outside the door, the locking lever 22 is revolved in a counterclockwise direction around the shaft 2 and the lateral pin 19 thereof is moved to the unlocking position (indicated by the chain line in FIG. 4), thus operating an inside handle (not shown) in the inside of the door and related with the outside handle or the indoor lock releasing lever 13. When the unlocking lever 16 is revolved in a counterclockwise direction around the shaft 10, the engaging lever 9 is revolved together with the unlocking lever 16, with the result that the meshing between the step 8 of the engaging lever 9 and the step 5 of the rotary member 6 is released and the door is allowed to open. In this instance the pawl 33 of the automatic unlocking lever 31 is not abutted on the lateral pin 19 but raced.

Iclaim:

1. A door locking device comprising a baseplate arranged to be secured to a door for supporting the elements of the locking device, latch means rotatably mounted on said baseplate and arranged to engage a striker in a pillar for securing the door in the closed position, and means mounted on said baseplate in operative engagement with said latch means for selectively maintaining said latch means in a locking condition and an unlocking condition, said means comprising engagement means disposed in continuous engagement with said latch means, said engagement means rotatably mounted on said baseplate, unlocking means pivotally secured to said baseplate and arranged to contact said engagement means for placing said latch means in the unlocking condition, automatic unlocking means pivotally secured to said baseplate and disposed in continuous contact with said engagement means and said automatic unlocking means arranged to contact said unlocking means so that when said automatic unlocking means contacts said unlocking means said engagement means are biased for maintaining the unlocking condition of said latch means, and locking means pivotally secured to said baseplate and in operative engagement with said unlocking means for displacing said unlocking means into a position where said automatic unlocking means are maintained in spaced relationship to said unlocking means for maintaining the locking condition of said latch means.

2. A door locking device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said latch means comprises a shaft pivotally mounted in said baseplate, a rotary member fixedly attached to said shaft, said rotary member comprising a latch formed therein for engagement with the striker in the pillar for securing the door in the closed position, and a step formed on the periphery of said rotary member in a spaced position from said latch, said engagement means comprises a shaft secured to said baseplate, an engaging lever pivotally mounted on said shaft and having a step formed therein for engagement with said step in said rotary member, a spring in engagement with said rotary member for maintaining said steps on said rotary member and said engaging lever in continuous engagement, said engaging lever having an abutment surface thereon spaced from said step and arranged to contact said unlocking means for placing said latch of said rotary member in the unlocking condition 3. A door locking device, as set forth in claim 2, wherein said unlocking means comprises an unlocking lever pivotally mounted on said shaft on which said engaging lever is pivotally mounted, said unlocking lever having a first part extending alongside said engaging lever and having a second part extending angularly fromsaid first part and having an elongated slotted hole therethrough extending in the longitudinal direction of said second part, and said locking means comprising a locking lever pivotally secured to said baseplate at a location thereon spaced from the pivotal attachments of said rotary member engaging lever and unlocking lever, and elongated connecting rod secured at one end to a point on said locking lever spaced from the point of pivotal attachment of said locking lever to said baseplate, said connecting rod having its other end disposed alongside said second part of said unlocking lever and adjoining the slotted hole therethrough, a lateral pin secured to the other end of said connecting rod and fitted within the slotted hole in the second part of said unlocking lever for the displacement of said lateral pin through said slotted hole when said locking lever is pivoted and in the unlocking condition of said latch said lateral pin being disposed adjacent the abutment on said engaging lever.

d. A door locking device, as set forth in claim 3, wherein said automatic unlocking lever is pivotally mounted on said baseplate, said automatic lever having a first part extending from one side of said pivotal attachment to said baseplate and a second part extending from the opposite side of said pivotal attachment to said baseplate, a spring member secured to said baseplate and said automatic unlocking lever for maintaining said first part thereof in continuous contact with the surface of said engaging lever, a pawl formed on :said second part of said automatic unlocking lever and located adjacent said slotted hole in said unlocking lever so that in the unlocking condition said pawl can contact said lateral pin fitted in said slotted hole for displacing said pin into contact with said abutment on said engaging lever for maintaining said latch in the unlocking condition, and said second part of said unlocking lever being rotatably displaceable away from said pawl so that in the locking condition of said latch said pawl is maintained out of contact with said lateral pin.

Claims

2. A door locking device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said latch means comprises a shaft pivotally mounted in said baseplate, a rotary member fixedly attached to said shaft, said rotary member comprising a latch formed therein for engagement with the striker in the pillar for securing the door in the closed position, and a step formed on the periphery of said rotary member in a spaced position from said latch, said engagement means comprises a shaft secured to said baseplate, an engaging lever pivotally mounted on said shaft and having a step formed therein for engagement with said step in said rotary member, a spring in engagement with said rotary member for maintaining said steps on said rotary member and said engaging lever in continuous engagement, said engaging lever having an abutment surface thereon spaced from said step and arranged to contact said unlocking means for placing said latch of said rotary member in the unlocking condition.

3. A door locking device, as set forth in claim 2, wherein said unlocking means comprises an unlocking lever pivotally mounted on said shaft on which said engaging lever is pivotally mounted, said unlocking lever having a first part extending alongside said engaging lever and having a second part extending angularly from said first part and having an elongated slotted hole therethrough extending in the longitudinal direction of said second part, and said locking means comprising a locking lever pivotally secured to said baseplate at a location thereon spaced from the pivotal attachments of said rotary member engaging lever and unlocking lever, and elongated connecting rod secured at one end to a point on said locking lever spaced from the point of pivotal attachment of said locking lever to said baseplate, said connecting rod having its other end disposed alongside said second part of said unlocking lever and adjoining the slotted hole therethrough, a lateral pin secured to the other end of said connecting rod and fitted within the slotted hole in the second part of said unlocking lever for the displacement of said lateral pin through said slotted hole when said locking lever is pivoted and in the unlocking condition of said latch said lateral pin being disposed adjacent the abutment on said engaging lever.

4. A door locking device, as set forth in claim 3, wherein said automatic unlocking lever is pivotally mounted on said baseplate, said automatic lever having a first part extending from one side of said pivotal attachment to said baseplate and a second part extending from the opposite side of said pivotal attachment to said baseplate, a spring member secured to said baseplate and said automatic unlocking lever for maintaining said first part thereof in continuous contact with the surface of said engaging lever, a pawl formed on said second part of said automatic unlocking lever and located adjacent said slotted hole in said unlocking lever so that in the unlocking condition said pawl can contact said lateral pin fitted in said slotted hole for displacing said pin into contact with said abutment on said engaging lever for maintaining said latch in the unlocking condition, and said second part of said unlocking lever being rotatably displaceable away from said pawl so that in the locking condition of said latch said pawl is maintained out of contact with said lateral pin.