US3614146A

US3614146A - Vehicle door latch

Info

Publication number: US3614146A
Authority: US
Inventors: Thomas O Marx
Original assignee: Atwood Vacuum Machine Co
Current assignee: AVM ACQUISITION Co A CORP OF; Atwood Industries Inc
Priority date: 1969-08-15
Filing date: 1969-08-15
Publication date: 1971-10-19
Anticipated expiration: 1988-10-19

Abstract

A freewheeling, dual preset vehicle door latch with a forcetransmitting pin mounted for controlled floating within slots formed in a side-by-side contactor and locking lever. The latch is of the ''''impulse'''' type in that the second preset operation may be performed completely while the door is open so that the door may be closed and locked simply by being swung shut in a normal fashion.

Description

United States Patent lnventor Thomas 0. Marx Rockton, Ill. App]. No. 850,524 Filed Aug. 15, 1969 Patented Oct. 19, 1971 Assignee Atwood Vacuum Machine Company Rockford, Ill.

VEHICLE DOOR LATCH 9 Claims, 17 Drawing Figs.

U.S.Cl 292/216, 292/280, 292/DIG. 26 Int. Cl 1105c 3/06 Field of Search 292/216, 198, 229, 280, 336.3, 216 J [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,359,026 12/1967 Shay 292/198 3,365,226 III 968 Shay 292/216 3,488,075 1/1970 Barnett 292/216 Primary ExaminerRoben L. Wolfe AttorneyWolfe, Hubbard, Leydig, Voit & Osann ABSTRACT: A freewheeling, dual preset vehicle door latch with a force-transmitting pin mounted for controlled floating within slots formed in a side-by-side contactor and locking lever. The latch is of the impulse type in that the second preset operation may be performed completely while the door is open so that the door may be closed and locked simply by being swung shut in a normal fashion.

PATENTEDUCT 19 I97! 3, 14,145

sum 5 UF 5 VEHICLE noon LATCH BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to a latch for use on the door of an automotive vehicle and, more particularly, the invention constitutes an improvement over the comparatively simple and compact latch disclosed in Ploughman U.S. application Ser. No. 751,194, filed Aug. 8, 1968, and assigned to the same assignee as the present application. The latch disclosed in the Ploughman application is of the dual preset type in that the latch automatically is placed in an unlocked condition each time the door is closed unless two separate manual operations are performed prior to closing of the door to preset the latch for keyless locking. That is, to achieve keyless locking with the latch of the Ploughman application, it is necessary to first shift an inside operated member to a locked position before closing the door and then manually hold an outside operated member in an operated position while the door is being swung shut.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary aim of the present invention is to provide a new and improved dual preset latch which possesses the simplicity and compactness of the Ploughman latch but which is of the so-called impulse type. That is to say, the present latch may be preset for keyless locking by first shifting the inside operated member to a locked position while the door is open and then by only momentarily actuating or impulsing the outside operated member. Thereafter, the door may be swung closed in a normal manner and without need of holding the outside member in an operated position during such swinging to effect locking of the door. If desired, the second preset operation may be performed by impulsing a second inside manually operated member rather than the outside operated member.

The invention also resides in the novel manner of holding the parts of the latch in an impulsed condition and in the relative simple addition which has been made to a latch of the Ploughman type to incorporate the impulse feature into such latch.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary cross section taken horizontally through a vehicle door equipped with a latch incorporating the novel features of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross section taken substantially along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and showing the latch in a locked and latched condition.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the latch in a freewheeling condition when an attempt is made to release the latch when the latter is locked.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the latch in an unlocked and latched condition.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the latch being released to enable opening of the door.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the latch as seen from the left in FIG. 4 and taken substantially along the line 6-6 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the latch in an unlatched condition and with the first of two necessary manual operations having been performed on the latch to preset the latch for keyless locking.

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7 but showing the second manual preset operation being performed on the latch to place the latter in an impulsed condition.

FIG. 9 is a view of parts shown in FIG. 8 and showing the position of such parts after the latch has been placed in an impulsed condition.

FIGS. 10, II and 12 are views similar to FIG. 2 but showing the latch in an impulsed condition and illustrating the successive positions the parts assume during closing of the door.

FIG. 13 is a side elevational view of the latch as seen from the right in FIG. 10 and taken substantially along the line 13- 13 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged fragmentary view of parts illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 and showing the parts in an impulsed position in full and in a freewheeling condition in phantom.

FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIG. 14 but showing the parts in an unlocked position in full and in a latch-releasing condition in phantom.

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary cross section taken substantially along the line 16-16 of FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a pawl for holding the latch in a latched condition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the invention is embodied in a latch 20 particularly adapted for use with the door 21 of an automotive vehicle and including a pivoted latching element 23 (FIG. 2) carried by the door and coacting with a cylindrical striker pin 24 mounted on a post 25 of the vehicle frame to hold the door in a tightly closed position. In this instance, the latching element is a forklike member formed with a recess 26 (FIG. 5) for receiving the striker. As the door is swung closed, contact of an edge 27 of the recess with the striker rotates the latching element counterclockwise from an unlatched position shown in FIG. 5 to a secondary latched position shown in FIG. 12 and then to a fully latched position shown in FIG. 4 to prevent separation'of the latching element from the striker and thus hold the door closed.

I'ICI'CII'I, the latching element 23 is journaled for rotation intermediate the ends of a fixed horizontal pin 29 (FIG. 2) which is anchored at its ends to a pair of vertically extending metal baseplates 31 and 32 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 13) spaced from and fastened to each other and housed within the door 21. The baseplate 31 is attached to the end wall 33 of the door and is formed with

flanges

35 and 36 extending between the two plates and along opposite sidewalls of the door. Most of the parts of the latch are encased within the enclosure formed by the plates and the flanges, and the entire latch is housed within the door such that the latch is concealed without any parts thereof projecting beyond the end wall of the door. A recess 37 (FIG. 3) formed in the base plate 31 and an aligned recess (not shown) formed in the door end wall expose the recess 26 of the latching element for latching with the striker 24 when the door is swung to the closed position.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it will be seen that an arcuate peripheral edge 64 of the latching element 23 constitutes a ratchet and is formed with a pair of angularly spaced

teeth

66 and 67 adapted to be engaged by a clocking-type pawl member 69. The pawl 69 is fulcrumed to pivot on a fixed horizontal shaft 70 extending between the

baseplates

31 and 32 above the pin 29 and is formed with a projecting tooth 71 extending downwardly toward the latching element and engageable sequentially with the

teeth

66 and 67 as the latching element is rotated counterclockwise. The pawl is urged into engagement with the ratched by a torsion spring 73 (FIGS. 1 and 13) surrounding the shaft 70 and anchored at its ends to the pawl and to the flange 36. When the pawl swings downwardly and drops off of the edge 64 into engagement with the ratchet tooth 66, the latching element 23 is held in its secondary or safety latched position (FIG. 12) and, when the pawl engages the tooth 67, the latching element is held in its fully latched position (FIG. 2). Clockwise turning (FIG. 2) of the pawl 69 about the shaft 70 releases the latching element 23 and enables the latter to turn clockwise from the latched position shown in FIG. 2 to the unlatched position shown in FIG. 5 to release the striker 24 and permit opening of the door 21. A contractile spring 74 (FIG. 5) is stretched between the flange 36 and the latching element and continuously urges the latter toward the unlatched position so that the latching element automatically turns to such position upon release of the pawl. When the latching element is in its unlatched position, the pawl tooth 71 engages the edge 64 of the latching element, and the pawl is disposed in a more elevated position than when the pawl tooth is in engagement with either of the

ratchet teeth

66 and 67.

To release the pawl 69 from the latching element 23 to unlatch the door 21, an actuator member or contactor lever 75 (FIGS. 3 and 14) is pivoted on the shaft 70 in side-by-side relation with the pawl and is adapted, when swung clockwise about the shaft from a nonnal position (FIG. 4) to an operated position (FIG. to cause lifting of the pawl away from the latching element to release the latter for turning to its un- Iatched position under the urging of the spring 74. Clockwise swinging of the contactor 75 about the shaft 70 may be effected from the outside of the vehicle by turning a lever 76 (FIG. 13) which is pivoted on the plate 32 at 77 and which is formed with a lug 78 overlying one end portion of the contactor. The lever is connected to an outside pushbutton (not shown) by an actuating link 79 and, in response to depression of the pushbutton, turns counterclockwise (FIG. 13) about the pivot 77 and into engagement with the contactor to swing the latter clockwise about the shaft 70 to its operated position (FIG. 5). Instead of being operated from the outside of the vehicle by a push button, the contactor may be actuated by an outwardly pullable outside handle (not shown) operably connected to the link 79. To return the contactor to its normal unoperated position, a torsion spring 80 (FIGS. 1 and 13) surrounds the shaft 70 and is anchored at its ends to the flange 36 and to the contactor to swing the latter counterclockwise when the outside pushbutton is released.

The pawl 69 may be released from the latching element 23 from the inside of the vehicle by swinging a lever 81 (FIG. 6) which is pivoted on the flange 35 at 82 and which is formed with a lug 83 directly underlying a finger 84 formed on and projecting from one end of the contactor 75. A link 85 connects the lever 81 to an inside door handle (not shown) which is operable to rock the lever to cause the lug 83 to move under and lift the finger 84 to swing the contactor 75 clockwise about the shaft 70.

Coupling of the contactor 75 to the pawl 69 to trip the latch in response to operation of the contactor is effected in the present instance by a force-transmitting connector 87 which moves with the contactor and which normally (FIGS. 4, 5 and transfers the clockwise motion of the contactor to the pawl to swing the latter away from the latching element 23. To lock the latch and prevent unauthorized opening of the door 21, the transmitting connector 87 is shifted to a position (FIGS. 2, 3 and 14) uncoupling the contactor from the pawl so that the contactor, when actuated, simply makes an idle motion or free-wheels with respect to the pawl and thus is ineffective to move the pawl out of engagement with the latching element. The transmitting connector is shifted from its coupling position (FIG. 15) to its uncoupling position (FIG. 14) in response to the turning of an inside manually operable member in the form of a locking lever 90 from an unlocked position to a locked position. The locking lever, which is formed with three angularly spaced arms 91, 92 and 93 (FIG. 15), is disposed side by side with the pawl 69 and the contactor 75 and is journaled on a stud 94 anchored to the base plate 32 and paralleling the shaft 70. To turn the locking lever 90 between its locked and unlocked positions shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, respectively, a garnish button (not shown) or other suitable member accessible from the inside of the door is attached to the arm 93 of the lever by a vertical rod 95. Up and down movement of the garnish button turns the locking lever back and forth between the unlocked and locked positions. In

As mentioned above, the force-transmitting connector 87 moves with the contactor 75 when the latter is actuated and serves to release the pawl 69 from the latching element 23. In addition, the transmitting connector is moved between its unlocked and locked positions. Advantageously, the force-transmitting connector 87 simply floats in slots 97 and 98 (FIGS. 14 and 15) formed in the contactor 75 and the locking lever 90, respectively, so as to be movable both with and relative to the contactor and the locking lever. When the contactor 75 is actuated, the edge of the slot 97 in the contactor shifts the transmitting connector 87 within the slot 98 and into engagement with the pawl 69. When the locking lever is shifted, the edge of the slot 98 moves the transmitting connector to either its coupling or uncoupling position with the connector floating within the slot 97 and relative to the contactor during such movement. As a result of the slots, the transmitting connector may be moved by either the contactor or the locking lever and may move relative to both the contactor and the locking lever without requiring additional mounting elements for producing and accommodating the movements. Ac-- cordingly, the cost, complexity and size of the latch are reduced.

In this instance, the slot 98 (FIG. 15) in the locking lever 90 is formed through the arm 92 and includes upper and lower portions, the upper portion being substantially straight and the lower portion, when the locking lever is in its unlocked position (FIG. 15), being substantially concentric with an arc struck about the center of the shaft 70. The slot 97 in the contactor 75 is straight, extends generally lengthwise of the contactor, and is located such that portions of the two

slots

97, 98 register in all positions of the locking lever As shown most clearly in FIGS. 14 and 16, the force-transmitting connector 87 herein is simply a small cylindrical pin which is projected slidably through the

slots

97 and 98 in closely spaced relation with the edges of the slots. A washer 99 (FIG. 16) on one end of the connector pin 87 prevents the latter from slipping out of the slot 97 and a similar washer 100 on the other end of the pin retains the pin in the slot 98. In the unlocked position of the locking lever 90 (FIGS. 4 and 15), the pin 87 is disposed in its coupling position in the lower portion of the slot 98 and in the extreme left end of the slot 97 in underlying relation with a lug 101 (FIGS. 4, 15 and 17) formed integrally with and projecting from the pawl 69. Thus, when the contactor 75 is actuated and swung clockwise about the shaft 70, the lower edge of the slot 97 engages the pin 87 to shift the latter into contact with the underside of the lug 101 thereby to lift or swing the pawl 69 away from the latching element 23 (as shown in FIG. 5 and in phantom in FIG. 15) to release the latching element from the striker 24. As the pin 87 is shifted by the contactor, it simply floats or slides within the lower portion of the slot 98 in the locking lever 90 and, as a result of the curvature of the lower portion, the pin neither binds in the slot nor disturbs the position of the locking lever. Thus, as long as the locking lever is in its unlocked position, the pin couples the contactor to the pawl and transmits the motion of the contactor to the pawl to release the latter when the contactor is actuated.

When the locking lever 90 is swung counterclockwise to its locked position (FIGS. 2 and 14) to lock the door 21, the left edge of the slot 98 engages the connector pin 87 and slides the latter from left to right within the slot 97 to its uncoupling position near the right end portion of the slot 97 as shown in FIG. 14. As the locking lever is turned, the edges of the slot 98 slide downwardly along the pin such that the pin, upon reaching the uncoupling position, is disposed in the upper portion of the slot 98. In the uncouplingposition, the pin is spaced laterally from the lug 101 on the pawl 69 and no longer underlies the lug. Accordingly, when the contactor 75 is actuated to bring the lower edge of the slot 97 into lifting engagement with the pin 87, the latter simply moves upwardly within the slot 98 and passes by the lug 101 (as shown in FIG. 3 and in phantom in FIG. 14) without engaging the lug to trip the pawl and release the latching element 23. The contactor thus makes the idle motion or free-wheels with respect to the pawl and is ineffective to trip the latch and open the door. The door therefore is locked and, until unlocked by either the key or the garnish button, cannot be opened from either the inside or the outside of the vehicle.

As described thus far, the latch is substantially identical to the latch disclosed in the aforementioned Ploughman application and is comparable in compactness and simplicity to the Ploughman latch. Like the Ploughman latch, the present latch is of the self-cancelling, dual preset type capable of keyless locking from the outside of the vehicle if and only if two separate operations are performed in proper sequence to preset the latch prior to closing of the door. That is, the locking action of the latch is cancelled and the latch is restored automatically to an unlocked condition as the door is closed if only one preset operation has been performed. The chances of accidentally and unintentionally locking the door thus are reduced. If both preset operations are performed before closing the door, however, the latch will be in a locked condition after the door has been closed, thus permitting keyless locking. With the Ploughman latch, the first preset operation is performed by shifting the locking lever of the latch to a locked position by the inside garnish button while the door is open. The second preset operation then is effected by shifting the contactor to its operated position through depression of the outside pushbutton and by holding the contactor in such position during closing of the door by manually keeping the pushbutton depressed while swinging the door shut.

In accordance with the primary aspect of the invention, the basic simplicity and compactness of the Ploughman latch are maintained in the present latch 20 and yet the present latch is of the impulse" type in that the second preset operation may be performed on the latch simply by momentarily actuating or "impulsing the outside pushbutton or other outside member and without need of holding the push button in a depressed condition as the door is swung closed. As a result, both preset operations may be fully performed while the door is open and then the door may be closed and locked simply by swinging the door shut in a normal fashion.

More specifically and referring to FIG. 7, it will be seen that the arm 92 of the locking lever 90 is formed with a relatively straight lower edge 105 which, in the locked position of the locking lever (FIG. 7), projects downwardly along one side of the latching element 23. A cancelling means in the form of a kickout lug 106 is attached to the side of the latching element 23 and is disposed in opposing relation with the edge 105 of the locking lever 90 when the latching element is in its unlatched position. Thus, if the locking lever 90 is turned to its locked position (FIG. 7) by accidental depression of the garnish button when the door is open, the kickout lug 106 will engage the edge 105 of thelocking lever as the door is closed and as the latching element 23 is turned counterclockwise to its latched position. As a result of such engagement, the locking lever is turned clockwise about the stud 94 to its unlocked position (FIGS. 4 and 14), and the right edge of the slot 98 engages the connector pin 87 to slide the latter from right to left within the slot 97 to its coupling position beneath the pawl lug 101. Accidental locking of the door thus is prevented since the latch 20 is restored automatically to an unlocked condition if the door is closed with the locking lever having been set in its locked position by depression of the garnish button and without an additional preset operation having been performed on the latch.

In keeping with the principles of the invention, the latch 20 will return to a locked state upon closing of the door 21 if, after shifting of the locking lever 90 to its locked position, the outside push button is depressed only momentarily while the door is open to impulse the contactor 75 and shift the latter to its operated position. When the pushbutton is depressed, the contactor 75 is swung clockwise about the shaft 70 by the lever 76 to raise the connector pin 87 into the extreme upper end portion of the curved slot 98 (see FIG. 8). Before being raised by the contactor, the pin bears against the left side edge of a small projection or embossment 109 (FIGS. 7, I5 and 16) formed integrally with and projecting outwardly from the outer face of the pawl 69 and thus prevents counterclockwise turning of the locking lever beyond its locked position shown in FIG. 7 under the urging of the toggle spring 96.'As the pin is raised upwardly by swinging of the contactor 79, however, the pin moves above the side edge of the embossment to release the locking lever 90 to the action of the spring 96. Accordingly, the locking lever 90 is turned slightly counterclockwise beyond its locked position to an impulsed condition (FIG. 8) and, during such turning, the left edge of the curved slot 98 engages the pin 87 and shifts the latter from left to right within the elongated slot 97 to a position located directly over and spaced above the top edge of the embossment 109 (see FIG. 8). In the impulsed condition of the locking lever 90, the arm 93 thereof engages the flange 35 and prevents further counterclockwise swinging of the locking lever.

Being shifted to a position above the embossment 109 by the combined action of the contactor 75 and the locking lever 90, the pin 87 is pulled downwardly into engagement with the top edge of the embossment 109 (see FIG. 9) by the upper edge of the slot 97 when the outside pushbutton is manually released to allow the contactor to swing counterclockwise toward its nonnal position. Such physical engagement of the pin with the embossment prevents the contactor from returning fully to its normal position and holds the contactor in an intermediate impulsed position as shown in FIG. 9.

When the pin 87 is in engagement with the top edge of the embossment 109 and when the locking lever 90 is in its impulsed condition (FIG. 9), the pin is disposed above and just to the left of an enlarged pocket 110 (FIGS. 9 and 15) formed at one side of the upper end portion of the curved slot 98. In this position, the pin is disposed in the path of clockwise swinging of the bottom edge of the pocket 110 and thus may be considered to be in registry with the pocket. The latch 20 now is in an impulsed condition and, even though the outside pushbutton has been manually released, the door 21 may be closed and locked automatically by simply swinging the door shut and without need of holding the pushbutton depressed during such swinging.

As the door 21 closes and the latching element 23 is turned to its latched position, the kickout lug 106 engages the lower edge of the locking lever 90 as before and starts turning the locking lever clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 9 toward the unlocked position shown in FIG. 4. Just before the locking lever reaches its unlocked position, the bottom edge of the pocket swings upwardly into engagement with the connector pin 87 and shifts the latter just slightly from right to left in the elongated slot 97 but keeping the pin positioned over the embossment 109 (see FIGS. 10 and Ill). The, the kickout lug I06 turns past and clears the lower edge 105 of the locking lever and, immediately thereafter, the pawl 69 drops downwardly behind the ratchet tooth 66 on the latching element 23. Such dropping of the pawl lowers the embossment 110 and allows the pin 87 to be shifted downwardly by the upper edge of the slot 97 in the contactor, 75, the latter thus being freed to swing counterclockwise toward its normal position under the urging of the torsion spring 80.

The effective forece of the torsion spring 80 is greater than that of the toggle spring 96 which biases the locking lever 90 to its unlocked position. Thus, with the contactor 75 freed to swing counterclockwise and with the pin 87 bearing against the bottom of the pocket 110, the torsion spring 80 acts through the pin and the pocket to cause the locking lever 90 to return counterclockwise to its locked position as soon as the pawl 69 drops downwardly behind the ratchet tooth 66 (see FIG. 12). As the latching element 23 continues to turn and as the pawl rides over the upper surface of the tooth 67, the pawl, the pin and the contactor are shifted slightly but not enough to shift the locking lever from its locked position. The locking lever thus is in its locked position when the latching element reaches its fully latched position with the pawl disposed be- From the foregoing, it will be seen that the locking lever 90' is turned automatically to an unlocked position each and every time the door 21 is closed with the locking lever 90 in a locked position but, if the contactor 75 is impulsed by momentary depression of the outside push button before closing of the door, the locking lever is automatically returned to its locked position when the door reaches its secondary or fully latched positions thereby to effect keyless locking of the door. Advantageously, the contactor 75 also may be impulsed from the inside of the door by actuating the inside door handle while the door is open and after setting the locking lever 90 in its locked position. Actuation of the inside handle causes the lever 8l to swing the contactor 75 clockwise to its operated position and effect impulsing of the latch. Thus, one may open the door slightly, perform a dual preset operation on the latch from the inside of the door while sitting in the vehicle, pick up a large package from the vehicle, and then simply kick the door shut after leaving the vehicle and without need of using either hand to effect closing and locking of the door.

The latch 20 is simple and compact in construction like the Ploughman latch with the only addition necessary to make the latch of the impulse type being the formation of the embossment 110 on the pawl 69. The embossment physically holds the contactor 75 out of its normal position and enables the parts to return to a locked condition upon closing of the door. While simple in nature, the embossment imparts an entirely different and advantageous mode of operation to the latch 20 as compared to the Ploughman latch.

I claim as my invention:

1. A latch having a base, a latching element mounted on said base to move between latched and unlatched positions, a pawl operable to hold said latching element in said latched position and releasable to free the latching element for movement to said unlatched position, a manually operable actuator formed with an elongated slot and mounted on said base for movement from a normal position to an operated position when actuated, said actuator being biased to return toward said nonnal position when released, a locking lever disposed side by side with said actuator and mounted on said base for movement between unlocked and locked positions, said locking lever also being formed with a slot with portions of the two slots registering with one another in all positions of said actuator and said locking lever, a connector extending through the two slots and slidable within said elongated slot between positions coupling and uncoupling said actuator with said pawl in response to movement of said locking lever between said unlocked and locked positions, said connector, when said locking lever is in said unlocked position, sliding within a first portion of said slot in said locking lever in response to movement of said actuator to said operated position and engaging the pawl to release the latter from said latching element, said connector, when said locking lever is in said locked position, sliding within a second portion of said slot in said locking lever and making an idle movement with respect to said pawl upon movement of said actuator to said operated position whereby the actuator free'wheels without releasing the pawl from the latching element, kickout means operable to move said locking lever to said unlocked position when said latching element is moved from said unlatched position to said latched position with said locking lever disposed in said locked position, and a pocket formed in the second position of said slot in said locking lever, the improvement in said latch comprising, means acting on said locking lever and serving to shift the locking lever to an impulsed position in response to movement of said actuator to said operated position but only when said locking lever first has been moved to said locked position, one edge of each of said lots engaging said connector as the actuator is moved to said operated position and as the locking lever is shifted to said impulsed position and moving said connector into registry with said pocket, means on said pawl thereafter engaging said connector and holding the latter in registry with said pocket after release of said actuator for return to said normal position, and said con nector thereafter, upon movement of said locking lever toward said unlocked position by said kickout means, lodging in said pocket and bearing against an edge of the pocket to return said locking lever to said locked position as said latching element moves into said latched position.

2. A latch as defined in claim 1 in which said means on said pawl comprises a projection extending from one side of the pawl.

3. A latch as defined in claim 2 in which said locking lever is biased to turn from said locked position to said impulsed position, said connector engaging one edge of said projection when said actuator is in said normal position and when said locking lever is in said locked position and preventing turning of said locking lever to said impulsed position, said connector engaging another edge of said projection when said actuator is in said operated position and when said locking lever is in said impulsed position and preventing return of the actuator to said normal position.

4. A latch as defined in claim 3 in which said pawl swings toward said latching element as the latter turns from said unlatched position to said latched position, said projection swinging with said pawl and, when so swinging when said connector is in engagement with said other edge of said projection, permitting movement of said connector toward said latching element thereby to enable said locking lever to return to said locked position.

5. A latch for a vehicle door and having a support, a latching element mounted on said support to move between latched and unlatched positions, locking mechanism mounted on said support and including a first manual member operable from the inside of the door and movable in response to a manual operation between locked and unlocked positions, said locking mechanism being operable when said manual member is in said locked position and when said latching element is in said latched position to maintain the latching element in the latched position and operable when the member is in said unlocked position to permit release of the latching element, cancelling means mounted on said support and operable always to move said manual member from said locked position toward said unlocked position as said latching element is moved from said unlatched position to said latched position with said manual member disposed in said locked position, said manual member normally remaining in said unlocked position when moved to such position by said cancelling means, and a second manual member operable from one side of the door and movable in response to a manual operation from a nonnal position to an operated position, said second manual member being biased to return automatically toward said normal position when manually released, the improvement in said latch comprising, means connected to said second manual member and operable in response to movement of the second manual member from said normal position to said operated position, when said latching element is in said unlatched position and said first manual element is in said locked position, to cause shifting of said first manual member to an impulsed position,

said first manual member, when in said impulsed position, returning automatically to said locked position immediately after being moved toward said unlocked position by said cancelling means, and means on said support for preventing return of said second manual member to said normal position after release of said second manual member for return toward said normal position thereby to keep said first manual member in said impulsed position whereby the latching element may be moved to said latched position without manually holding second manual member in said operated position and, after movement of the latching element to the latched position, said first manual member will be in said locked position.

6. A latch as defined in claim in which said second manual member may be operated from the outside of the door to cause shifting of said first manual member to said impulsed position.

7. A latch as defined in claim 5 in which said second manual member may be operated from the outside of the door and from the inside of the door to cause shifting of said first manual member to said impulsed position.

8. A latch as defined in claim 5 in which said second manual member may be operated both from the outside of the door and from the inside of the door to cause shifting of said first manual member to said impulsed position.

9. A latch having a base, a latching element mounted on said base to move between latched and unlatched positions, a pawl operable to hold said latching element in said latched position and releasable to free the latching element for movement to said unlatched position, a manually operable actuator formed with an elongated slot and mounted on said base for movement from a normal position to an operated position when manually actuated, a locking lever disposed side by side with said actuator and mounted on said base for movement between unlocked and locked positions, said locking lever also being formed with a slot with portions of the two slots registering with one another in all positions of said actuator and said locking lever, a connector extending through the two slots and slidable within said elongated slot between positions coupling and uncoupling said actuator with said pawl in response to movement of said locking lever between said unlocked and locked positions, said connector, when in said coupling position, sliding within said slot in said locking lever in response to movement of said actuator to said operated position and engaging the pawl to release the latter from said latching element, said connector, when in said uncoupling position, sliding within said slot in said locking lever and making an idle movement with respect to said pawl upon movement of said actuator to said operated position whereby the actuator free-wheels without releasing the pawl from the latching element, and kickout means operable to move said locking lever to shift said connector to said coupling position when said latching element is moved from said unlatched position to said latched position with said locking lever disposed in said locked position and said connector disposed in said uncoupling position, the improvement in said latch comprising, means acting on said locking lever and moving the latter to an impulsed position in response to manual movement of said actuator from said normal position to said operated position after said locking lever first has been shifted to said locked position, and means holding said locking lever in said impulsed position when said actuator thereafter is manually released for return from said operated position to said normal position, said locking lever, when in said impulsed position, serving to keep said connector in said uncoupling position as said latching element moves from said unlatched position to said latched position.

Claims

1. A latch having a base, a latching element mounted on said base to move between latched and unlatched positions, a pawl operable to hold said latching element in said latched position and releasable to free the latching element for movement to said unlatched position, a manually operable actuator formed with an elongated slot and mounted on said base for movement from a normal position to an operated position when actuated, said actuator being biased to return toward said normal position when released, a locking lever disposed side by side with said actuator and mounted on said base for movement between unlocked and locked positions, said locking lever also being formed with a slot with portions of the two slots registering with one another in all positions of said actuator and said locking lever, a connector extending through the two slots and slidable within said elongated slot between positions coupling and uncoupling said actuator with said pawl in response to movement of said locking lever between said unlocked and locked positions, said connector, when said locking lever is in said unlocked position, sliding within a first portion of said slot in said locking lever in response to movement of said actuator to said operated position and engaging the pawl to release the latter from said latching element, said connector, when said locking lever is in said locked position, sliding within a second portion of said slot in said locking lever and making an idle movement with respect to said pawl upon movement of said actuator to said operated position whereby the actuator free-wheels without releasing the pawl from the latching element, kickout means operable to move said locking lever to said unlocked position when said latching element is moved from said unlatched position to said latched position with said locking lever disposed in said locked position, and a pocket formed in the second position of said slot in said locking lever, the improvement in said latch comprising, means acting on said locking lever and serving to shift the locking lever to an impulsed position in response to movement of said actuator to said operated position but only when said locking lever first has been moved to said locked position, one edge of each of said lots engaging said connector as the actuator is moved to said operated position and as the locking lever is shifted to said impulsed position and moving said connector into registry with said pocket, means on said pawl thereafter engaging said connector and holding the latter in registry with said pocket after release of said actuator for return to said normal position, and said connector thereafter, upon movement of said locking lever toward said unlocked position by said kickout means, lodging in said pocket and bearing against an edge of the pocket to return said locking lever to said locked position as said latching element moves into said latched position.

5. A latch for a vehicle door and having a support, a latching element mounted on said support to move between latched and unlatched positions, locking mechanism mounted on said support and including a first manual member operable from the inside of the door and movable in response to a manual operation between locked and unlocked positions, said locking mechanism being operable when said manual member is in said locked position and when said latching element is in said latched position to maintain the latching element in the latched position and operable when the member is in said unlocked position to permit release of the latching element, cancelling means mounted on said support and operable always to move said manual member from said locked position toward said unlocked position as said latching element is moved from said unlatched position to said latched position with said manual member disposed in said locked position, said manual member normally remaining in said unlocked position when moved to such position by said cancelling means, and a second manual member operable from one side of the door and movable in response to a manual operation from a normal position to an operated position, said second manual member being biased to return automatically toward said normal position when manually released, the improvement in said latch comprising, means connected to said second manual member and operable in response to movement of the second manual member from said normal position to said operated position, when said latching element is in said unlatched position and said first manual element is in said locked position, to cause shifting of said first manual member to an impulsed position, said first manual member, when in said impulsed position, returning automatically to said locked position immediately after being moved toward said unlocked position by said cancelling means, and means on said support for preventing return of said second manual member to said normal position after release of said second manual member for return toward said normal position thereby to keep said first manual member in said impulsed position whereby the latching element may be moved to said latched position without manually holding second manual member in said operated position and, after movement of the latching element to the latched position, said first manual member will be in said locked position.

6. A latch as defined in claim 5 in which said second manual member may be operated from the outside of the door to cause shifting of said first manual member to said impulsed position.