US3708193A

US3708193A - Automatic door locking mechanism

Info

Publication number: US3708193A
Application number: US00086816A
Authority: US
Inventors: A Capporicci
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1970-11-04
Filing date: 1970-11-04
Publication date: 1973-01-02
Anticipated expiration: 1990-01-02

Abstract

An automatic locking mechanism for a car door which is operatively associated with a door jamb having a keeper and which includes a longitudinal outer panel, a transverse jamb panel and a longitudinal interior flange, such mechanism including a latch mounted on the jamb panel and operatively associated with the keeper, a detent mounted on the jamb panel and operatively associated with the latch, a detent actuating member mounted on the jamb panel and operatively associated with the detent, an externally key-actuated and automatically deactuated detent locking mechanism mounted on the outer panel, jamb panel and interior flange and operatively associated with the detent actuating member, and an externally manually actuated and deactuated detent unlocking mechanism mounted on the outer panel and operatively associated with the detent locking mechanism, whereby only upon key-actuation of the detent locking mechanism will actuation of the detent unlocking mechanism unlock the door from the outside whether opened or closed, and upon subsequent deactuation of such detent unlocking mechanism the door automatically will be locked from the outside whether opened or closed and will remain locked form the outside upon closing without actuation of either the detent locking mechanism or unlocking mechanism.

Description

United States Patent 1 Caporicci [54] AUTOMATIC DOOR LOCKING MECHANISM Antonio Richmond Ave., 14222 Filedz Nov. 4, 1970 Appl. No.: 86,816

G. Caporicci, 608 Buffalo, N.Y.

[76] Inventor:

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1971 Pollack ..70/l0l 3/1967 Nash ..292/280 2/1969 Pennell ..292/336.3

Primary ExaminerRobert L. Wolfe Attorney-Sommer & Weber [5 7] ABSTRACT An automatic locking mechanism for a car door which is operatively associated with a door jamb having a keeper and which includes a longitudinal outer panel, a transverse jamb panel and a longitudinal interior flange, such mechanism including a latch mounted on the jamb panel and operatively associated with the keeper, a detent mounted on the jamb panel and operatively associated with the latch, a detent actuating member mounted on the jamb panel and operatively associated with the detent, an externally key-actuated and automatically deactuated detent locking mechanism mounted on the outer panel, jamb panel and interior flange and operatively associated with the detent actuating member, and an externally manually actuated and deactuated detent unlocking mechanism mounted on the outer panel and operatively associated'with the detent locking mechanism, whereby only upon key-actuation of the detent locking mechanism will actuation of the detent unlocking mechanism unlock the door from the. outside whether opened or closed, and upon subsequent deactuation of such detent unlocking mechanism the door automatically will be locked from the outside whether opened or closed and will remain locked form the outside upon closing without actuation of either the detent locking mechanism or unlocking mechanism.

PATENTEDJM 2191a 3.708.193

SHEET 1 [IF 4 INVENTOR.

Antonio G. Cuporicci ATTORNEYS PATENTED AI 2 I975 3 708. 193

SHEET 3 BF 4 INVENTOR.

Antonio G. Ccporicci ATTORNEYS PATENTEDJAH 2 i915 SHEET l} 0F 4 INVENTOR. Antonio G. Coporicci ATTORNEYS AUTOMATIC DOOR LOCKING MECHANISM This invention relates to improvements in locking mechanisms and more particularly to a new and improved autornatic locking mechanism for a door, such as a vehicular door, which is operatively associated with a door jamb having keeper means and which includes longitudinal outer panel means, transverse jamb panel means and longitudinal interior flange means.

A primary object of the invention is to provide such an automatic locking mechanism whichrequires the use of a key to unlock the door from the outside at all times, and thereby prevent unauthorized entry and theft of a vehicle and/or its contents.

Other objects are to provide such an automatic locking mechanism which is so constructed and designed as (l) to permit the use of a personalized key bearing the owners initials, such as A.G.C. which also can be molded on the drivers side of the windshield for vehicle recognition purposes, as well as a customized tumbler mechanism which only can be actuated by such key, the availability of which key can be restricted to the manufacturer of the vehicle; (2) to permit the elimination of the usually interior push button type door locking and unlocking mechanism, if desired; (3) to prevent accidental opening of the door in the event of a collision, and (4) to be relatively simple inconstruction and efficient and effective in operation.

To these ends, the inventive automatic locking mechanism comprises latch means mounted on the jamb panel means and operatively associated with the keeper means for movement relative thereto in opposite door opening and closing directions, detent means mounted on the jamb panel means and operatively associated with the latch means for movement between an unlatched position permitting the latch means to move in such opposite door opening and closing directions and a normal latched position preventing the latch means from moving in the door opening direction and for movement between the normal latched position and an intermediate position permitting the latch means to move in the door closing direction, detent actuating means mounted on the jamb panel means and operatively associated with the detent means for movement between a normal deactuated position and an actuated position moving the detent means to the unlatched position, externally key-actuated and automatically deactuated, detent locking means mounted on the outer panel means and including rotatable means, linkage means operatively associated with the rotatable means, and lever means operatively associated with the rotatable means, link age means and detent actuating means for movement of the linkage means and lever means between normal and intermediate inoperative positions without moving the detent actuating means to the actuated position, for key-actuated movement of the rotatable means, linkage means and lever means from the normal inoperative position to a ready position for moving the detent actuating means to the actuated position, for movement of the linkage means and lever means from the ready position to an operative position moving the detent actuating means to the actuated position, and for automatic return movement of the rotatable means, linkage means and lever means from the operative position to the normal inoperative position, resilient means operatively associated with the detent means and lever means and normally biasing the detent means, detent actuating means and detent locking means to the latched, deactuated and normal inoperative positions respectively, while permitting the detent means to move from the latchedposition to the intermediate position, without affecting the normal in-operative position of the lever means and while permitting the lever means to move from the normal inoperative position to each of the intermediate, inoperative and operative positions, and externally manually actuated and deactuated detent unlocking means mounted on the outer panel means and operatively associated with the lever means for movement between a normal locked position and an unlocked position moving the lever means either from the normal inoperative position to the intermediate inoperative position or from the ready position to the operative position, whereby only upon key actuation of the detent locking means will actuation of the detent unlocking means move the detent locking. means, detent actuating means and detent means to the operative, actuated and unlatched positions respectively to unlock the door from the outside whether opened or closed, and upon subsequent deactuation of the detent unlocking means the detent means, detent actuating means and detent locking means automatically return to the latched, deactuated and normal inoperative positions respectively to lock the door from the outside whether opened or closed, and to maintain the door locked from the outside upon closing without actuation of either the detent locking means or detent unlocking means.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become evident from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a more or less diagrammatic view of a left front vehicular door and adjacent body structure, looking from the inside, say the drivers seat, and illustrating in broken lines the inventive locking mechanism and associated components in dotted lines;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and illustrating part of such inventivelocking mechanism diagrammatically in dotted lines and in relation to the various other components mounted on or associated with the door;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged exploded perspective view andillustrating from left to right the door jamb keeper and rack thereon, as well as the gear wheel and ratchet wheel forming the latch of the inventive locking mechanism;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical section taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2 and illustrating the positions of the various components of the inventive locking mechanism in its normal locked condition, locking the door;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but illustrating the positions of such components when only the external push button and rod detent unlocking mechanism has been manually actuated;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but illustrating the positions of such components when only the keys-actuated detent locking mechanism has been actuated by turning the key;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but illustrating the positions of such components when both the key-actuated detent locking mechanism has been actuated by turning the key and the external push button and rod detent unlocking mechanism has been manually actuated, to unlock the door;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 88 of FIG. 4 and illustrating the normal inoperative position of the detent locking mechanism; as in FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is a view'similar to FIG. 8 but illustrating keyactuated ready position of the detent locking mechanism, as in FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to FIG. 8, but only illustrating the following elements of the key-actuated detent locking mechanism, namely the longitudinal flange and slot therein on the upstanding lever (FIG. 4), and the upright link with its transverse upper end slidably engaged in the upright portion of the slot below the longitudinal bayonet portion of the slot, with the lower position of such transverse upper end being shown in solid lines when the key-actuated detent locking mechanism is in its normal inoperative position of FIGS. 4 and 8, and with the upper position of 'such transverse upper end being shown in dotted. lines when the key-actuated detent locking mechanism is in its intermediate inoperative position of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10, but illustrating such transverse upper end of the upright link cammed out of the upright slot portion and into and retained by the longitudinal bayonet slot portion when the key-actuated detent locking mechanism is in its ready position ofFIGS.6and 9;

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. but illustrating such transverse upper end of the upright link cammed out of the bayonet slot portion and into the upright slot portion when the key-actuated detent locking mechanism is in its operative position of FIG. 7;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on line 13 13 of FIG. 2 and illustrating various other components of the inventive locking mechanism in its normal locked condition, together with parts of an optional'interior push button type, detent locking and unlocking mechanism in locked position and the deactuated position of parts of a remote control, interior handle actuated mechanism for independently actuating the detent actuating component of the inventive locking mechanism;

FIG. 14 is a view similar to FIG. 13, but illustrating the actuated position of parts of the interior handle actuated mechanism;

' FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIG. 13, but illustrating the unlocked position of parts of the optional interior push button type, detent locking and unlocking mechanism;

FIGS. 16, 17, 18 and 19 are horizontal sectional views taken generally on the correspondingly numbered lines 16- 16, 17--l 7, l8-18, and 19-49 respectively of FIG. 4, and illustrating in greater detail various components of the inventive automatic locking mechanism;

FIG. 20 is an enlarged fragmentary view with parts broken away in section and illustrating the connection between the slot in the upstanding lever and the transverse upper end of the upright link components of the key-actuated detent locking mechanism;

FIG. 21 is a section taken on line 2 l'21 of FIG. 20, and

FIG. 22 is an enlarged perspective view of the upstanding lever of the key-actuated detent locking mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, and .particularly FIGS. 1 and 2, the left front portion of a vehicular body, such as that of a four-door sedan is generally indicated at 10, as viewed in FIG. 1 from the inside, say the drivers seat (not shown). Thus, the pertinent components of body 10 include a hollow front hinge post 12, which has its front and rear walls perforated and is sandwiched between front outer panel 14 and front inner panel 16, a hollow center or jamb post 18, a rear door, generally indicated at 20 and suitably operatively associated with post 18, and front door 22 which incorporates the inventive automatic locking mechanism. i

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, door 22 includes an elongated, longitudinal outer panel 24 and an elongated longitudinal inner panel 26 spaced therefrom by a front transverse panel 28 provided on its outer or front side with a hinge plate 29 having a curved hinge 30 swingable through the perforations in front hinge post 12. Inner panel 26 terminates at its inner end with a rear transverse jamb panel 32 which, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 16, is reinforced on its inner side with a jamb plate 33 having an interior longitudinal flange 34 extending forwardly therefrom and spaced outwardly from the inside ofinner longitudinal panel 26 (FIG. 2).

Returning to FIG. 2, transverve jamb panel32 also is provided with an outer rearw'ardly extending longitudinal flange portion 35 abutting outer panel 24 and covering the open end of a C-shaped door jamb plate 36 retained in 'a front recess in jamb post 18 and, as shown in FIG. 3, provided on its front side with a complimentary shaped keeper plate 38 having upstanding gear teeth 40 forming a rack, and operatively .associated with the latch component of the inventive automatic locking mechanism mounted on and within door 22.

Continuing with FIGS. 1 and 2, outer door panel 24 is provided with the usual handle 42, while inner panel 26 is provided at its upper end with the pushbutto'n 44 and vertical rod or link 45 .of an optional interior and manually actuated and deactuated detent locking and unlocking mechanism which also includes longitudinal lever 46 (FIGS. 13-15) operatively associated with the inventive automatic locking mechanism which is schematically shown in dotted lines at 60 in FIGS. 1 and 2. In addition, inner panel 26 is provided on its inner side with the usual window crank 50 and the manually actuated and deactuated handle or lever 52 of a remote control internal mechanism for opening and closing door 22, and which mechanism includes pivotal mounting 53 extending from handle 52 through panel'26,

crank 54 thereon and rod or link 55 together with Iongitudinal bell crank lever 56 (FIGS. 13-15) likewise operatively associated with inventive automatic locking mechanism 60, which also includes the push button mechanism 200 shown in FIG. 2 as operable through handle 42.

Referring now to FIGS. 3, 4 and 18, the first component of inventive automatic locking mechanism 60 is the latch mechanism, which includes pinion or gear wheel 62 and ratchet wheel 64 rotatably mounted on the outside and inside respectively of jamb panel 32 and plate 33 by means of a shaft 66 extending from pinion 62 and provided with a flat 68 press fit within a slot 70in ratchet wheel 64, with the pinion'and ratchet wheel being spaced from panel 32 and plate 33 respectively by washers 72. As will be evident from FIG. 3, pinion 62 is provided with gear teeth 74 adapted to mesh with gear teeth 40 forming the rack of keeper plate 38 upon opening and closing of door 22, while ratchet wheel 64 is provided with a series of circumferentially spaced peripheral teeth 76 having flat front leading faces 78 and arcuate trailing faces 80 for a purpose to be described below.

The next component of automatic locking mechanism 60 is the detent mechanism which, as best seen in FIGS. 4-7 and 17, includes an enlarged transverse lever 82 pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the inside of jamb plate 33 by means of a headed shaft 84 and spaced therefrom by washer 86. Lever 82 is provided with an outer arm portion 88 operatively associated with the resilient means to be described, a de-. pending dog portion 90 operatively associated with ratchet wheel 64 and a bifurcated inner arm portion 92 operatively associated with the detent actuating mechanism to be described.

The third component of automatic locking mechanism 60 is such detent actuating mechanism, which, as best seen in FIGS. 47 and 17 includes a transverse bell crank lever 94 pivotally mounted on the inside of jamb plate 33 by means of a headed shaft 96 and spaced therefrom by washer 98. Lever 94 includes an outer transverse arm portion 100 engaging bifurcated arm portion 92, an upright arm portion 102 terminating in a rearwardly extending car 104 operatively associated with the exteriorally key-actuated mechanism to be described, and an elongated inner transverse arm portion 106 extending inwardly through slot 108 in interior longitudinal flange 34, terminating in an upstanding ear or lug 110 and operatively associated with lever 56 of the remote control interior door opening mechanism.

Continuing with FIGS. 47 and 8l0, the externally key-actuated detent locking mechanism constitutes the fourth component of inventive automatic locking mechanism 60, and such detent locking mechanism includes a transverse tumbler mechanism which is generally indicated at 112, is actuated by key K and is suitably rotatably mounted on and extends inwardly through outer door panel 24. Inasmuch as the detailed structure of such tumbler mechanism 112 may vary as desired, no detailed description thereof will be given, other than to note that both the tumbler mechanism and the key are custom fittedfor the protection of the owner of the vehicle for anti-theft purposes. At its inner end, tumbler mechanism 112 is provided with an elongated longitudinal bracket 114 fixed thereto intermediate its ends for rotation therewith, and terminating at its forward end in a transverse outwardly extending flange 116. I i

A downwardly extending link or rod 1 18 has its hooked upper end extending through and pivotally connected to flange 116 with its lower end slidably extending downwardly through an opening in a horizontal longitudinal stop flange 120 extending forwardly from the inside of transverse jamb panel 32. A compression spring 122 surrounds the lower end of link 118, is supported thereon by means of a washer or collar 124 and a nut 126 threaded onto such lower end and is movable therewith, with its upper end engaging the underside of stop 120. In addition, a shorter stop sleeve 128 surrounds the lower end of link 1 l8 and is arranged within spring 122 for limiting compression thereof, if necessa- Continuing with FIGS. 47 and 8, 9, an upright link or rod 130 which is slightly bent and inclined upwardly and rearwardly has its reversely bent lower end 132 hooked through and pivotally connected to flange 116, with its transverse inwardly extending upper end 134 externally threaded at 135, as best shown in FIG. 21. As also seen in FIGS. 18 and 22 an upstanding lever 136 includes an upright lower end portion 138 which is pivotally mounted on jamb plate 33 by means of headed shaft 140 protruding forwardly therefrom, with lower end portion 138 being spaced from plate 33 by washer 142 and terminating in a forwardly extending horizontal flange portion 144 operatively associated with the resilient means to be described. Upstanding lever 136 includes a forwardly and upwardly inclined offset portion 146 to permit free passage thereof in front of detent lever 82 and terminates in an elongated upright upper portion 148 which is provided with a forwardly extending longitudinal flange 150 having an elongated slot 152 including a lower upright portion 154 and an upper and forwardly extending longitudinal bayonet portion 156.

As will be evident from FIGS. 4-9, and particularly FIGS. 20 and 21, the externally threaded portion 135 of transverse upper end 134 of link 130 is slidably received in and extends through slot 152, with the connection between these elements being formed by washers 158, nuts and cotter pins 162 holding the nuts in place so as to permit the desired relative movement between link 130 and upstanding lever 136 while retaining threaded portion v135 of transverse upper end 134 in slot 152.

Returning to FIGS. 4-9, the externally key-actuated detent locking mechanism also includes a downwardly and rearwardly depending link or rod 164 having its upper end hooked through and pivotally connected to the rear end of bracket 114 and its lower end hooked through and pivotally connected to the outer end of a lower transverse lever 166 which, as also shown in FIG. 19, is pivotally mounted on jamb plate 33 intermediate its ends by headed shaft 168 and spaced from jamb plate 33 by washer 170. Lever 1 66 terminates at its inner end with a forwardly extending longitudinal flange portion 172, and an upstanding link or rod 174 has its hooked lower end extending inwardly through flange portion 172 and pivotally connected to the inner end of lever 166, with its upper end hooked through and pivotally connected to the lower rear end of an L- shaped lever 176 which, as shown-in FIGS. 13 and 16, is pivotally mounted on the inside of interior flange 34 by means of headed shaft 177 and spaced therefrom by sleeve 178. Returning to FIGS. 47, at its rear end longitudinal lever 176 is provided with an outwardly ex.- .tending transverse loop 180 which receives and forms a lost motion connection with the forwardly extending longitudinal lug portion 182 (FIG. 16) on the inner end of an upper transverse lever 184 which is provided adjacent its inner end with a downwardly and inwardly extending elongated lug 'portion 186 arranged to the rear of upper arm portion 102 of detent actuating lever 94 but also operatively associated with rearwardly extending ear 104 thereon. Transverse upper lever 184 also includes a forwardly and outwardly inclined, offset central portion 188 terminating in a transverse outwardly extending outer end portion 190 which is pivotally connected to upper end portion 148 of upstanding lever 136 by a headed shaft 192 (FIG. 16) below the lower end of slot 152 in flange 150, it being noted that the generally vertical axis of slot 152 preferably is alined with the rotationalaxis of bracket 144, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

The fifth component of the externally key-actuated detent locking mechanism is the resilient means in the form of a torsion spring 194 which, as shown in FIGS. 4-7 and 17 has its central portion coiled around shaft 84 between the head of the shaft and detent lever 82, with its shorter upper and outwardly (FIG. 7) arm portion 196 hooked through and retained by outer arm portion 88 of detent lever82, while its downwardly and outwardly diverging longer lower arm portion 198 is arranged over and engages lower end flange portion 144 on upstanding lever 136. The function of torsion spring 194 is to normally bias detent lever 82, detent actuating lever 94 and the externally key-actuated detent locking mechanism to their-respective latched, de-actuated and normal inoperative positions, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 8, while permitting detent lever 82 to move from its latched position of FIG. 4 to its unlatched position (FIG.7) and an intermediate position (not shown) for counter-clockwise, door-closing movement of ratchet wheel 64 and pinion 62 of the latch mechanism, all without affecting the normal inoperative position (FIG. 4) of lever 184, as well as permitting the key-actuated detent locking mechanism to move from such normal inoperative position to each of its intermediate inoperative position shown in FIG. and its operative position shown in FIG. 6, as will be explained in greater detail below. I g

The fifth and last compound of the automatic locking mechanism 60 is the externally manually actuated and deactuat'ed detent unlocking mechanism which, as shown in FIGS. 4-7 and 16, includes a transverse push button and rod mechanism generally indicated at 200 and mounted 'on and reciprocable through outer panel 24 and handle 42, with push button 202 being arranged on the outside of panel 24 and rod 204 being arranged on the inside thereof. This mechanism, which may or may not have its own internal return spring (not shown) and is operatively associated with the externally key-actuated detent locking mechanism, functions to unlock door 22 only when key-actuated detent locking mechanism is in its ready position of FIG. 6.

The operation and the various positions of the various components of automatic locking mechanism. 60 will now be described with primary reference to FIGS. 4-7 and 812.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 4 and 8, expansion of compression spring 122 normally biases the externally key-actuated detent locking mechanism to its normal inoperative position wherein tumbler mechanism 112 and bracket 114 are rotated in a clockwise direction to lower downwardly extending link 118 and upright link 130 with externally threaded portion 135 of its transverse upper end 134 being moved downwardly in upright slot portion 154 to the solid line position shown in FIG. 10. At the same time, the rear end of bracket 114 is pivoted upwardly to raise depending link 164 which pivots lower transverse link 166 to a horizontal position thereby lowering upstanding link 174, the rear end of upper longitudinal lever 176 and the inner end of upper transverse lever 184 with its depending lug portion 186 disengaged from and positioned outwardly of rearwardly extending flange 104 on upper arm portion 102 of detent actuating lever 94, all as shown in FIG. 4. Thus, detent actuating lever 94 is in its normal deactuated position while detent lever 82 is biased by torsion spring 194 to its latched position wherein its bifurcated inner arm portion 92 engages outer arm portion 100 of detent actuating lever 94 and its depending dog portion 90 engages a leading tooth face 78 on ratchet wheel 64. Hence, both ratchet wheel 44 and pinion 62 (FIG. 3) are positively prevented from rotating in a clockwise door opening direction to effectively lock door 22 whether the same be opened or closed, and to effectively prevent accidental opening of the door in the event ofa collision. In addition, should door 22 be opened, it will remain locked 'even upon closing, because torsion spring 194 permits detent lever 82 to pivot clockwise to an intermediate position (not shown) slidably engageable with the arcuate trailing tooth faces of ratchet .wheel 64 permitting counterclockwise rotation thereof and pinion 62 in a door closing direction without affecting the normal inoperative position of the externally key-actuated detent locking mechanism or requiring actuation thereof or of the externally actuated detent-unlocking mechanism, even though in the embodiment shown, detent actuating lever 94 is likewise pivoted counter-clockwise by detent lever 82. Obviously, the lower portion of the inner bifurcated arm 92 of detent lever 82 could be eliminated, but the bifurcated portions are preferred for a more positive engagement with the outer arm portion of detent actuating lever 94.

Whether door 22 be opened or closed, actuation only of the externally manually actuated detent unlocking mechanism 200 will not unlock the door but merely move the externally key-actuated detent locking mechanism from its normal operative position of FIG. 4 to its intermediateinoperative position of FIG. 5, wherein uprightlink' pivots inwardly about its lower end with the externally threaded portion of its transverse upper end 134 sliding upwardly but remaining in upright slot portion 154 below bayonet slot portion 156, as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 10. Of course, this action pivots upstanding lever 136 inwardly about its lower end against the bias of torsion spring 194, but without moving detent actuating lever 94'for the following reason. At the same time as push button 202 is depressed or actuated to move rod 204 inwardly engaging flange and pivoting lever 136 inwardly, this action merely moves upper transverse lever 184 inwardly relative to upper longitudinal lever 176 by virtue of the lost motion connection between lug or flange portion 182 and loop with depending lug portion 186 being disengaged from and passing below rearwardly extending car 104 and behind upper arm portion 102 of detent actuating lever 94. In short, nothing of any consequence happens. Of course, upon release of push button and rod mechanism 200, torsion spring 194 automatically returns transverse lever 184, upstanding lever 136 and upright link 130 to their normal inoperative positions of FIG. 4.

Referring now to FIG. 6, external actuation of th detent locking mechanism by turning key K in a counter-clockwise direction, as seen in FIG. 9 (i.e. to the right from outside door 22), causes such detent locking mechanism to move from its normal inoperative position of FIG. 4 to its ready position of FIGS. 6 and 9, wherein tumbler-mechanism 112 and bracket 114 are rotated counter-clockwise, with the bracket assuming a generally horizontal position. This action raises downwardly extending link 118 and upright link 130 against the bias of compression spring 122 to compress the same sufficiently so that the externally threaded portion 135 of transverse upper link end 134 is cammed upwardly and forwardly out of upright slot portion 154 into bayonet slot portion 156, which retains such threaded portion therein against the bias of compressed spring 122, as clearly shown in FIGS. 9 and 11. If necessary, the compression of spring 122 can be limited by engagement (not shown) between the upper end of sleeve 128 and the underside of stop flange 120. At the same time, depending link 164 is lowered to pivot lower transverse lever 166 pushing inner upstanding lever 174 upwardly to raise the rear end of longitudinal lever 176 and the inner end of upper transverse lever 184, the outer end of which is pivotally connected to upper end portion 148 of upstanding lever 136. In this position, depending lug portion 186 is positioned forwardly of but is operatively engageable with rearwardly extending ear 104 of upper arm portion 102 of detent actuating lever 94 for movement thereof, as will be described below. Of course, nothing of consequence occurs as far as the-latch, detent and detent actuating mechanisms are concerned, because they remain in their respective positions of FIG. 4. I

At this point, actuation of the external detent unlocking mechanism 200 by depression of push button 202 moves transverse rod 204 inwardly, engaging flange 150 of upstanding lever 136, thereby moving the previously key-actuated detent locking mechanism to its operative position of FIG. 7, wherein upright link 130 is pivoted inwardly with the externally threaded portion 135 on its transverse upper end being cammed longitudinally rearwardly and slightly downwardly out of bayonet slot portion 156 into the upper end of upright slot portion 154, as shown in solid lines in FIG. 12. This action pivots upstanding lever 136 inwardly against the bias of torsion spring 194 causing transverse lever 184 also to move inwardly by virtue of such lost motion connection, with its depending lug portion 186 engaging rearwardly extending car 104 on detent actuating lever 94, thereby pivoting the same counterclockwise to its actuated position of FIG. 7, with its outer arm portion engaging bifurcated inner arm portion 92 and pivoting detent lever 82 clockwise against the bias of torsion spring 194 to move dog portion 90 out of engagement with ratchet wheel 64, all to unlock door 22, whether the same be opened or closed. If closed, simply pulling on handle 42 from the outside will readily open door,22. While this action may ever so slightly permit a very small counter movement of bracket 114 and tumbler mechanism 112 in a clockwise direction, such movement is so insignificant that it can be ignored for all practical purposes, the important factor being the camming of threaded portion out of bayonet slot portion 156 into upright slot portion 154 to permit expansion or recovery of compression spring 122 upon release of pushbutton 202.

Immediately upon deactuation of the exterior detent unlocking mechanism by release of push button 202, compression spring 122 expands and

legs

196 and 198 of torsion spring 194 diverge to produce a bias which causes automatic return of the key-actuated detent locking mechanism, detent actuating lever 94 and detent lever 82 to their normal inoperative, deactuated and latched positions respectively, as shown in FIG. 4, to automatically lock door 22, whether the same be opened or closed. As noted above, and now reiterated, the door will remain locked from the outside upon closing without actuation of either the key-actuated detent locking mechanism or the externally actuated detent unlocking mechanism, it being merely necessary to slam the door to the closed position.

The foregoing described structure constitutes the preferred embodiment of ,inventive automatic door locking mechanism 60. However, the operation of the aforementioned internally actuated detent locking and unlocking mechanism and door opening mechanism now will be described briefly for corn-pleteness. As noted above, anoptional interior manually actuated detent locking and unlocking mechanism may be provided and, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 13-15 and 17, includes vertical push button 44 and vertical rod or link 45, the lower end of which is pivotally connected to the forward end of a longitudinal bell crank lever 46 which is pivotally mounted on the inside of interior flange 34 by means of a shaft 47 and is spaced inwardly therefrom by a collar 48 (FIG. 17), with lever 46 being provided with a combined upwardly extending stub arm and outwardly extending lug portion 49 operatively engaged with the bifurcated lower arm portion 179 of upper longitudinal lever 176. Hence, as the externally key-actuated detent locking mechanism is in its normal inoperative position of FIGS. 4 and 13, the internal manually I actuated and deactuated detent locking and unlocking mechanism is in its locked position of FIG. 13, with vertical push button 44 being depressed. However, as the externally key-actuated detent locking mechanism moves to its ready position of FIG. 6 or operative position of FIG. 7, the internal detent locking and unlocking mechanism moves to its unlocked position of FIG. 15, because of the pivoting of

longitudinal levers

176 and 46 respectively, thereby elevating rod 45 and push button 44. As will be evident, this internal detent locking and unlocking mechanism can be completely eliminated inthe embodiment illustrated, because deactuation of the external detent unlocking mechanism following key actuation of the external detent. locking mechanism automatically returns the latter to its normal inoperative position of FIG. 4, to automatically lock the door from the outside. However, the interior manually actuated detent locking and unlocking mechanism may be retained for convenience in the event the occupant of the car wishes to lock the door from the inside so that the person on the outside need not employ key K to actuate the external detent 4 unlocking mechanism. Even this is unnecessary inview of the fact that in the particular embodiment illustrated, the door readily may be opened from the inside by manipulation of interior handle 52 as presently will ;be described. However, lever 46 could be provided with a depending dog (not shown) engageable with lever 56 in the position shown-.in- FIG. 13 and disengageable therefrom in the position shown in FIG. so as to require sequential lifting of push button 44 prior to manipulating door opening lever 52.

As will be apparent from the foregoing, and FIGS. 1, 2, 4-7 and 13-15, lever 52 forms part of the remote control mechanism for opening the door from the inside, and which mechanism includes pivotal mounting 53, crank 54 and longitudinal rod or lever 55, the front end of which is pivotally connected to crank 54 and the rear end of which is pivotally connected to the lower end of lever 56, the latter being pivotally mounted on the outside of interior flange 34 by shaft 57 and provided with a rearwardly extending longitudinal dog 58 extending over and engageable with inner arm 106 of detent actuating lever 94. Hence, this remote control mechanism provides a convenient means of opening the door from the inside by moving detent actuating lever 94 from its normal deactuated position of FIGS. 4-6 and 13 to its actuated position of FIGS. 7 and 14, merely by manually pivoting lever 52 upwardly, thereby'pivoting crank 54 in a clockwise direction to pull link 55 forwardly and pivot lever 56 in a counterclockwise direction so that dog 58 depresses arm 106 and pivots detent-actuating lever 94 to disengage detent lever 82 from ratchet wheel 64, thereby readily permitting opening of door 22 from the inside but without affecting the normal inoperative position of lever 184 (FIGS. 14 and 4), as noted above.

From the foregoing detailed description and accompanying drawings, it is apparent how the inventive automatic locking mechanism 60 accomplishes its various objectives. Furthermore, while a single preferred embodiment of the invention has been described and illustrated herein, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the invention by those skilled in the art without departing from the inventive concept, the scope of which is to be determined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l 1. An automatic locking mechanism for a door which is operatively associated with a door jamb having keeper means and which includes longitudinal outer panel means,transverse jamb panel means and longitudinal interior flange means, said mechanism comprising latch'means mounted on said jamb panel means and operatively associated with said keeper means for movement relative thereto in opposite door opening and closing directions,'detent means mounted on said jamb panel means and operatively associated with said latch means for movement between an unlatched position permitting said latch means to move in said opposite door opening and closing directions and a normal latched position preventing said latch means from moving in said door opening direction and for movement between said normal latched position and an intermediate position permitting said latch means to move in said door closing direction, detent actuating means mounted on said jamb panel means and operatively associatedwith said detent means for movement between a normal deactuated position and an actuated position moving said detent means to said unlatched position, externally key-actuated and automatically deactuated, detent locking means mounted on said outer panel means and including rotatable means, linkage means operatively associated with said rotatable means, and lever means operatively associated with said rotatable means, linkage means and detent actuating means for movement of said linkage means and lever means between normal and intermediate inoperative positions without moving said detent actuating means to said actuated position, for key-actuated movement of said rotatable means, linkage means and lever means from said normal inoperative position to a ready position for moving said detent actuating means to said actuated position, for movement of said linkage means and lever means from said ready position to an operative position moving said detent actuating means to said actuated position, and for automatic return movement of said rotatable means, linkage means and lever means from said operative position to said normal inoperative position, resilient means operatively associated with said detent means and lever means and normally biasing said detent. means, detent actuating means and lever means to said latched, deactuated and normal inoperative positions respectively, while permitting said detent means to move from said latched position to said unlatched position and intermediate position without affecting said normal inoperative position of said lever means and while permitting said lever means to .move from said normal inoperative position to each of said intermediate inoperative and operative positions, and externally manually actuated and deactuated detent unlocking means mounted on said outer panel means and operatively associated with said lever means for movement between a normal locked position and an unlocked position moving said lever means either from said normal inoperative position to said intermediate inoperative position or from said ready position to said operative position, whereby only key actuation of said detentlocking means will actuation of said detent unlocking means move said detent locking means, detent actuating means and detent means to said operative, actuated and unlatched positions respectively to unlock the door from the outside whether opened or closed, and upon subsequent deacu- I the door from the outside whether opened or closed,

and to maintain the door locked from the outside'upon closing without actuation of either said detent locking means or detent unlocking means.

2. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 15 wherein the keeper means include a rack and said latch means include a ratchet wheel and a pinion rotatably mounted on the inside and outside respectively of said jamb panel means, with said pinion being adapted to meshwith the rack upon opening and closing of the door, and with said ratchet wheel having a series of circumferentially spaced peripheral teeth engaged by said detent means in said latched position to prevent rotation of said ratchet wheel and pinion in said door opening direction, disengaged from said detent means in said unlatched position to permit said rotation in said opposite door opening and closing directions, and operatively engageable by said detent means in said intermediate position to permit said rotation in said door closing direction, all without affecting normal inoperative position of said lever means.

3. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 15 wherein said detent means include an enlarged transverse lever pivotally mounted on the inside of said jamb panel means and having an outer arm portion retaining said resilient means, a depending dog portion engaging said latch means in said latched position, operatively engageable with said latch means in said intermediate position and disengaged from said latch means in said unlatched position, and an inner arm portion engaging said detent actuating means in said latched position and engaged by said detent actuating means in said actuated position, all without affecting said normal inoperative position of said lever means.

4. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 15 wherein said detent actuating means include a transverse bell crank lever pivotally mounted on the inside of said jamb panel means and having an outer arm portion engaging said detent means in said actuated position and engaged by said detent means in said latched position, all without affecting said normal inoperative position of said lever means, and an upright arm portion disengaged from said lug means in said normal and intermediate inoperative positions, operatively engageable by said lug means in said ready position and engaged and moved to said actuated position by said lug means in said operative position.

5. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 15 wherein said resilient means include a torsion spring wound around the mounting of said detent means and having upper and lower outwardly diverging leg portions, with said upper leg portion being retained and moved by said detent means toward said lower leg portion in said unlatched and intermediate positions, all without affecting said normal inoperative position of said lever means, and with said lower leg portion engaging and moved by said lever means toward said upper leg portion in said operative and intermediate inoperative positions.

6. The automatic locking mechanism of claim lS wherein said detent unlocking means include a transverse push button and rod mechanism mounted on and reciprocable through said outer panel means, with said push button and rod being arranged on the outside and inside respectively of said outer panel means, depression of said push button moving said rod inwardly to said unlocked position wherein the inner end of said 7. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 1 wherein said rotatable means include atransverse keyactuated tumbler mechanism rotatably mounted on and extending inwardly through said outer panel means, and and elongated longitudinal bracket fixed intermediate its ends to the inner end of said tumbler mechanism for rotation therewith, said linkage means include a downwardly extending link having its upper end pivotally connected to one end of said bracket and its lower end slidably extending through a stop projecting from the inside of one of said outer panel means and jamb panel means, a compression spring surrounding said lower end of said downwardly extending link with its lower end supported thereon and movable therewith and its upper end engaging said stop, and an upright link having its lower end pivotally connected to said one end of said bracket and a transverse upper end, said lever means include an upstanding lever having its lower end pivotally mounted on the inside of said jamb panel means and engaging said resilient means and its upper end provided with a longitudinal flange portion operatively associated with said detent unlocking means and having a slot slidably receiving said transverse upper end of said upright link and including a lower upright slot portion and an upper longitudinal bayonet slot portion, expansion of said compression spring normally biasing said detent locking means to said normal inoperative position wherein said tumbler mechanism and bracket are rotated in one direction to lower said downwardly extending link and said upright link with said transverse upper end being moved downwardly in said upright slot portion, actuation of said detent unlocking means moving said detent locking means from said normal inoperative position to said intermediate inoperative position wherein said upright link is pivoted inwardly with said transverse upper end moving upwardly but remaining in said upright slot portion below said bayonet slot portion and said upstanding lever is pivoted inwardly against the bias of said resilient means but without moving said detent actuating means to said actuated position, deactuation of said detent unlocking means and the bias of said resilient means automatically returning said upstanding lever and upright link to said normal inoperative position, key-actuation of said detent locking means causing-said movement from said normal inoperative position to said ready position wherein said tumbler mechanism and bracket are rotated in the opposite direction to raise said downwardly extending link ,and said upright link, with'said transverse upper end being cammed out of said upright slot portion into said bayonet slot portion which retains said transverse upper end therein against the bias of said compression spring, actuation of said detent unlocking means moving said detent locking means from said ready position to said operative position wherein said upright link is pivoted inwardly with said transverse, upper end being cammed out of said bayonet slot portion into said upright slot portion and said upstanding lever is pivoted inwardly against the bias of said resilient means to move said detent actuating means to said actuated position, and deactuation of said detent unlocking means, expansion of said compression spring and the bias of said resilient means causing said automatic return movement of said detent locking means, detent actuating means and detent means to said normal inoperative, deactuated and latched positions respectively.

8. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 7 wherein said linkage means include a depending link and an upstanding link, and said lever means include a lower transverse lever, a longitudinal lever and an upper transverse lever, said depending link being pivotally connected at its upper end to the other end of said bracket and at its lower end to the outer end of said lower transverse lever which is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the inside of said jamb panel means, said upstanding link being pivotally connected atits lower end to the inner end of said lower transverse lever and at its upper end to one end of said longitudinal leve'r which is pivotally mounted on the inside of said interior flange means and forms at its one end a transverse lost motion connection with the inner end of said upper transverse lever which .has a depending lug portion and its outer end pivotally connected tosaid upper end of said upstanding lever, expansion of said compression spring normally biasing said detent locking means to said normal inoperative position wherein said depending link rises to pivot said lower transverse lever lowering said upstanding link, said one end of said longitudinal lever and said one end of said upper transverse lever with said lug portion being disengaged fromsaid detent actuating means, actuation of said detent unlocking means causing said movement from said normal inoperative positio n to said 'intermediate inoperative position wherein said upper transverse lever moves inwardly by virtue of said lost motion connection with said lug portion being disengaged from said detent actuating means, deactuation of said detent unlocking means and the bias of said resilient means automatically returning said upper transverse lever, upstanding lever and upright link to said normal inoperative position, key-actuation of said detent, locking means causing said movement from'said normal inoperative position to said ready position wherein said depending link lowers to pivot said lower transverse lever raising said upstanding link, said one end of said longitudinal lever and said one end of said upper transverse lever with its lug portion being operatively engageable with said detent actuating means, actuation of said detent unlocking means causing said movement from said ready position to said operative position wherein. said upper transverse lever moves inwardly by virtue of said lost motion connection with said lug portion engaging and vmovingsaid detent actuating means into said actuated position, and deactuation of said detent unlockingmeans, expansion of said compression spring-and the bias of said resilient means causing said automatic return movement of said detent locking means, detent actuating means and detent means to said normal inoperative, deactuated and latched positions respectively. a

9. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 8 wherein the keeper means include a rack and said latch means include a ratchet wheel and a pinion rotatably mounted on the inside and outside respectively of said jamb panel means, with said pinion being adapted to mesh with the rack upon opening and closing of the door, and with said ratchet wheel having a series of circumferentially spaced peripheral teeth engaged bysaid detent means in said latched position to prevent rotation of said ratchet wheel and pinion in said door opening direction, disengaged from said detent means in said unlatched position to permit said rotation in said opposite door opening and closing directions, and

operatively engageable by said detent means in said intermediate position to permit said rotation in said door closing direction, all without affecting said normal inoperative position of said upper transverse lever.

10. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 8 wherein said detent means include an enlarged transverse lever pivotally mounted on the inside of said jamb panel means and having an outer arm portion retaining said resilient means, a depending dog portion engaging said latch means in said latched position, operatively engageable with said latch means in said intermediate position and disengaged from said latch means in said unlatched position, and an inner arm portion engaging said detent actuating means in said latched position and engaged by said detent actuating means in said actuated position, all without affecting said normal inoperative position of said upper transverse lever.

11. The automatic locking mechanism of claim wherein said detent actuating means include a transverse bell crank lever pivotally mounted on the inside of said jamb panel means and having an outer arm por-, tion engaging said detent means in said actuated position and engaged by said detent means in said latched position, all without affecting said normal inoperative position of said upper transverse lever, and an'upright arm portion disengaged from said lug portion in said normal and intermediate inoperative positions, operatively engageable by said lug portion in said ready position and engaged and moved to said actuated position by said lug portion in said operative position.

12. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 8 wherein said resilient means include a torsion spring wound around the mounting of said detent means and having-upper and lower outwardly diverging leg por tions, with said upper leg portion being retained and moved by said detent means toward said lower leg portion in said unlatched and intermediate positions, all without affectingsaid normal inoperative position of said upper transverse lever, and with said lower leg portion engaging and moved by said lower end of. said upstanding lever toward said upper leg portion in said operative and intermediate inoperative positions.

13. Theautomatic locking mechanism of claim 8 wherein said detent unlocking means include a transverse push button and rod mechanism mounted on and reciprocable through said outer panel means, with said push button and rod being arranged on the outside and inside respectively of said outer panel means, actuation of said push button moving said rod inwardly to said unlocked position wherein the inner end of said rod engages and pivots said longitudinal flange on said upstanding lever and said upright link inwardly either from said normal inoperative position to said intermediate inoperative position or from said ready posi tion to said operative position, and deactuation of said push button automatically moving said rod and push button outwardly to said locked position with said longitudinal flange portion of said upstanding lever and said upright link automatically returning to said normal inoperative position under the bias of said resilient means and expansion of said compression spring when returning from said operative position. v

14. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 1 wherein said linkage means include expansible' spring means, one of said linkage means and lever means include transverse end means and the other of said linkage means and levermeans include a slot slidably receiving said end means and including a vertical portion and a longitudinal bayonet portion, expansion of said spring means normally biasing said detent locking means to said normal inoperative position wherein said rotatable means are rotated in one direction to move said linkage means vertically with said end means being moved vertically relatively away from said bayonet slot portion in said vertical slot portion, actuation of said detent unlocking means moving said detent locking means from said normal inoperative position to said intermediate inoperative position wherein said linkage means are moved inwardly with said end means moving vertically relatively toward said bayonet slot portion but remaining in said vertical slot portion and said lever means are moved inwardly against the bias of said resilient means but without moving said detent actuating means to said actuated position, deactuation of said detent unlocking means and the bias of said resilient means automatically returning said lever means and linkage means to said normal inoperative position, keyactuation of said detent locking means causing said movement from said normal inoperative position to said ready position wherein said rotatable means are rotated in the opposite direction to move said linkage means vertically oppositely with said end means being cammed relatively out of said vertical slot portion into said bayonet slot portion which retains said end means therein against the bias of said spring means, actuation of said-detent unlocking means moving said detent locking means from said ready position to said operative position wherein said linkage means are moved inwardly with said end means being cammed relatively out of said bayonet slot portion into said vertical slot portion and said lever means are moved inwardly against the bias of said resilient means to move said detent actuating means to said actuated position, and deactuation of said detent unlocking means, expansion of said spring means and the bias of said resilient means causing said automatic return movement of said detent locking means, detent actuating means and detent means to said normal inoperative, deactuated and latched positions respectively.

15. The automatic locking means of claim 14 wherein said lever means include a transverse lost motion connection and lug means, expansion of said spring means normally biasing said detent locking means to said normal inoperative position wherein said linkage means and lever means are moved vertically with said lug means being disengaged from said detent actuating means, actuation of said detent unlocking means causing said movement from said normal inoperative position to said intermediate inoperative position wherein said lever means are moved inwardly by virtue of said lost motion connection with said lug means being disengaged from said detent actuating means, deactuation of said detent unlocking means, and the bias of said resilient means automatically returning said lever means and linkage means to said normal inoperative position, key-actuation of said detent locking means causing said movement from said normal inoperative position to said ready position wherein said linkage means and lever means are moved vertically oppositely with said In means being operatlvely engageable with said deten actuating means, ac-

Claims

1. An automatic locking mechanism for a door which is operatively associated with a door jamb having keeper means and which includes longitudinal outer panel means,transverse jamb panel means and longitudinal interior flange means, said mechanism comprising latch means mounted on said jamb panel means and operatively associated with said keeper means for movement relative thereto in opposite door opening and closing directions, detent means mounted on said jamb panel means and operatively associated with said latch means for movement between an unlatched position permitting said latch means to move in said opposite door opening and closing directions and a normal latched position preventing said latch means from moving in said door opening direction and for movement between said normal latched position and an intermediate position permitting said latch means to move in said door closing direction, detent actuating means mounted on said jamb panel means and operatively associated with said detent means for movement between a normal deactuated position and an actuated position moving said detent means to said unlatched position, externally key-actuated and automatically deactuated, detent locking means mounted on said outer panel means and including rotatable means, linkage means operatively associated with said rotatable means, and lever means operatively associated with said rotatable means, linkage means and detent actuating means for movement of said linkage means and lever means between normal and intermediate inoperative positions without moving said detent actuating means to said actuated position, for key-actuated movement of said rotatable means, linkage means and lever means from said normal inoperative position to a ready position for moving said detent actuating means to said actuated position, for movement of said linkage means and lever means from said ready position to an operative position moving said detent actuating means to said actuated position, and for automatic return movement of said rotatable means, linkage means and lever means from said operative position to said normal inoperative position, resilient means operatively associated with said detent means and lever means and normally biasing said detent means, detent actuating means and lever means to said latched, deactuated and normal inoperative positions respectively, while permitting said detent means to move from said latched position to said unlatched position and intermediate position without affecting said normal inoperative position of said lever means and while permittinG said lever means to move from said normal inoperative position to each of said intermediate inoperative and operative positions, and externally manually actuated and deactuated detent unlocking means mounted on said outer panel means and operatively associated with said lever means for movement between a normal locked position and an unlocked position moving said lever means either from said normal inoperative position to said intermediate inoperative position or from said ready position to said operative position, whereby only key actuation of said detent locking means will actuation of said detent unlocking means move said detent locking means, detent actuating means and detent means to said operative, actuated and unlatched positions respectively to unlock the door from the outside whether opened or closed, and upon subsequent deacutation of said detent unlocking means said detent means, detent actuating means and detent locking means automatically return to said latched, deactuated and normal inoperative positions respectively to lock the door from the outside whether opened or closed, and to maintain the door locked from the outside upon closing without actuation of either said detent locking means or detent unlocking means.

2. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 15 wherein the keeper means include a rack and said latch means include a ratchet wheel and a pinion rotatably mounted on the inside and outside respectively of said jamb panel means, with said pinion being adapted to mesh with the rack upon opening and closing of the door, and with said ratchet wheel having a series of circumferentially spaced peripheral teeth engaged by said detent means in said latched position to prevent rotation of said ratchet wheel and pinion in said door opening direction, disengaged from said detent means in said unlatched position to permit said rotation in said opposite door opening and closing directions, and operatively engageable by said detent means in said intermediate position to permit said rotation in said door closing direction, all without affecting normal inoperative position of said lever means.

6. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 15 wherein said detent unlocking means include a transverse push button and rod mechanism mounted on and reciprocable through said outer panel means, with said push button and rod being arranged on the outside and inside respectively of said outer panel means, depression of said push button moving said rod inwardly to said unlocked position wherein the inner end of said rod engages and moves said lever means and linkage means either from said normal inoperative position to said intermediate inoperative position or from said ready position to said operative position, and release of said push button automatically moving said rod and push button outwardly to said locked position with said lever means and linkage means automatically returning to said normal inoperative position under the bias of said resilient means and expansion of said spring means when returning from said operative position.

7. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 1 wherein said rotatable means include a transverse key-actuated tumbler mechanism rotatably mounted on and extending inwardly through said outer panel means, and and elongated longitudinal bracket fixed intermediate its ends to the inner end of said tumbler mechanism for rotation therewith, said linkage means include a downwardly extending link having its upper end pivotally connected to one end of said bracket and its lower end slidably extending through a stop projecting from the inside of one of said outer panel means and jamb panel means, a compression spring surrounding said lower end of said downwardly extending link with its lower end supported thereon and movable therewith and its upper end engaging said stop, and an upright link having its lower end pivotally connected to said one end of said bracket and a transverse upper end, said lever means include an upstanding lever having its lower end pivotally mounted on the inside of said jamb panel means and engaging said resilient means and its upper end provided with a longitudinal flange portion operatively associated with said detent unlocking means and having a slot slidably receiving said transverse upper end of said upright link and including a lower upright slot portion and an upper longitudinal bayonet slot portion, expansion of said compression spring normally biasing said detent locking means to said normal inoperative position wherein said tumbler mechanism and bracket are rotated in one direction to lower said downwardly extending link and said upright link with said transverse upper end being moved downwardly in said upright slot portion, actuation of said detent unlocking means moving said detent locking means from said normal inoperative position to said intermediate inoperative position wherein said upright link is pivoted inwardly with said transverse upper end moving upwardly but remaining in said upright slot portion below said bayonet slot portion and said upstanding lever is pivoted inwardly against the bias of said resilient means but without moving said detent actuating means to said actuated position, deactuation of said detent unlocking means and the bias of said resilient means automatically returning said upstanding lever and upright link to said normal inoperative position, key-actuation of said detent locking means causing said movement from said normal inoperative position to said ready position wherein said tumbler mechanism and bracket are rotated in the opposite direction to raise said downwardly extending link and said upright link, with said transverse upper end being cammed out of said upright slot portion into said bayonet slot portion which retains said transverse upper end therein against the bias of said compression spring, actuation of said detent unlocking means moving said detent locking means from said ready position to said operative position wherein said upright link is pivoted inwardly with said transverse upper end being cammed out of said bayonet slot Portion into said upright slot portion and said upstanding lever is pivoted inwardly against the bias of said resilient means to move said detent actuating means to said actuated position, and deactuation of said detent unlocking means, expansion of said compression spring and the bias of said resilient means causing said automatic return movement of said detent locking means, detent actuating means and detent means to said normal inoperative, deactuated and latched positions respectively.

8. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 7 wherein said linkage means include a depending link and an upstanding link, and said lever means include a lower transverse lever, a longitudinal lever and an upper transverse lever, said depending link being pivotally connected at its upper end to the other end of said bracket and at its lower end to the outer end of said lower transverse lever which is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the inside of said jamb panel means, said upstanding link being pivotally connected at its lower end to the inner end of said lower transverse lever and at its upper end to one end of said longitudinal lever which is pivotally mounted on the inside of said interior flange means and forms at its one end a transverse lost motion connection with the inner end of said upper transverse lever which has a depending lug portion and its outer end pivotally connected to said upper end of said upstanding lever, expansion of said compression spring normally biasing said detent locking means to said normal inoperative position wherein said depending link rises to pivot said lower transverse lever lowering said upstanding link, said one end of said longitudinal lever and said one end of said upper transverse lever with said lug portion being disengaged from said detent actuating means, actuation of said detent unlocking means causing said movement from said normal inoperative position to said intermediate inoperative position wherein said upper transverse lever moves inwardly by virtue of said lost motion connection with said lug portion being disengaged from said detent actuating means, deactuation of said detent unlocking means and the bias of said resilient means automatically returning said upper transverse lever, upstanding lever and upright link to said normal inoperative position, key-actuation of said detent locking means causing said movement from said normal inoperative position to said ready position wherein said depending link lowers to pivot said lower transverse lever raising said upstanding link, said one end of said longitudinal lever and said one end of said upper transverse lever with its lug portion being operatively engageable with said detent actuating means, actuation of said detent unlocking means causing said movement from said ready position to said operative position wherein said upper transverse lever moves inwardly by virtue of said lost motion connection with said lug portion engaging and moving said detent actuating means into said actuated position, and deactuation of said detent unlocking means, expansion of said compression spring and the bias of said resilient means causing said automatic return movement of said detent locking means, detent actuating means and detent means to said normal inoperative, deactuated and latched positions respectively.

9. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 8 wherein the keeper means include a rack and said latch means include a ratchet wheel and a pinion rotatably mounted on the inside and outside respectively of said jamb panel means, with said pinion being adapted to mesh with the rack upon opening and closing of the door, and with said ratchet wheel having a series of circumferentially spaced peripheral teeth engaged by said detent means in said latched position to prevent rotation of said ratchet wheel and pinion in said door opening direction, disengaged from said detent means in said unlatched position to permit said rotation in said opposite door opening and closing directions, and operatively engageable by said detent means in said intermediate position to permit said rotation in said door closing direction, all without affecting said normal inoperative position of said upper transverse lever.

11. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 8 wherein said detent actuating means include a transverse bell crank lever pivotally mounted on the inside of said jamb panel means and having an outer arm portion engaging said detent means in said actuated position and engaged by said detent means in said latched position, all without affecting said normal inoperative position of said upper transverse lever, and an upright arm portion disengaged from said lug portion in said normal and intermediate inoperative positions, operatively engageable by said lug portion in said ready position and engaged and moved to said actuated position by said lug portion in said operative position.

12. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 8 wherein said resilient means include a torsion spring wound around the mounting of said detent means and having upper and lower outwardly diverging leg portions, with said upper leg portion being retained and moved by said detent means toward said lower leg portion in said unlatched and intermediate positions, all without affecting said normal inoperative position of said upper transverse lever, and with said lower leg portion engaging and moved by said lower end of said upstanding lever toward said upper leg portion in said operative and intermediate inoperative positions.

13. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 8 wherein said detent unlocking means include a transverse push button and rod mechanism mounted on and reciprocable through said outer panel means, with said push button and rod being arranged on the outside and inside respectively of said outer panel means, actuation of said push button moving said rod inwardly to said unlocked position wherein the inner end of said rod engages and pivots said longitudinal flange on said upstanding lever and said upright link inwardly either from said normal inoperative position to said intermediate inoperative position or from said ready position to said operative position, and deactuation of said push button automatically moving said rod and push button outwardly to said locked position with said longitudinal flange portion of said upstanding lever and said upright link automatically returning to said normal inoperative position under the bias of said resilient means and expansion of said compression spring when returning from said operative position.

14. The automatic locking mechanism of claim 1 wherein said linkage means include expansible spring means, one of said linkage means and lever means include transverse end means and the other of said linkage means and lever means include a slot slidably receiving said end means and including a vertical portion and a longitudinal bayonet portion, expansion of said spring means normally biasing said detent locking means to said normal inoperative position wherein said rotatable means are rotated in one direction to move said linkage means vertically with said end means being moved vertically relatively away from said bayonet slot portion in said vertical slot portion, actuation of said detent unlocking means moving said detent locking means from said normal inoperatIve position to said intermediate inoperative position wherein said linkage means are moved inwardly with said end means moving vertically relatively toward said bayonet slot portion but remaining in said vertical slot portion and said lever means are moved inwardly against the bias of said resilient means but without moving said detent actuating means to said actuated position, deactuation of said detent unlocking means and the bias of said resilient means automatically returning said lever means and linkage means to said normal inoperative position, key-actuation of said detent locking means causing said movement from said normal inoperative position to said ready position wherein said rotatable means are rotated in the opposite direction to move said linkage means vertically oppositely with said end means being cammed relatively out of said vertical slot portion into said bayonet slot portion which retains said end means therein against the bias of said spring means, actuation of said detent unlocking means moving said detent locking means from said ready position to said operative position wherein said linkage means are moved inwardly with said end means being cammed relatively out of said bayonet slot portion into said vertical slot portion and said lever means are moved inwardly against the bias of said resilient means to move said detent actuating means to said actuated position, and deactuation of said detent unlocking means, expansion of said spring means and the bias of said resilient means causing said automatic return movement of said detent locking means, detent actuating means and detent means to said normal inoperative, deactuated and latched positions respectively.

15. The automatic locking means of claim 14 wherein said lever means include a transverse lost motion connection and lug means, expansion of said spring means normally biasing said detent locking means to said normal inoperative position wherein said linkage means and lever means are moved vertically with said lug means being disengaged from said detent actuating means, actuation of said detent unlocking means causing said movement from said normal inoperative position to said intermediate inoperative position wherein said lever means are moved inwardly by virtue of said lost motion connection with said lug means being disengaged from said detent actuating means, deactuation of said detent unlocking means, and the bias of said resilient means automatically returning said lever means and linkage means to said normal inoperative position, key-actuation of said detent locking means causing said movement from said normal inoperative position to said ready position wherein said linkage means and lever means are moved vertically oppositely with said lug means being operatively engageable with said detent actuating means, actuation of said detent unlocking means causing said movement from said ready position to said operative position wherein said lever means move inwardly by virtue of said lost motion connection with said lug means engaging and moving said detent actuating means into said actuated position, and deactuation of said detent unlocking means, expansion of said spring means and the bias of said resilient means causing said automatic return movement of said detent locking means, detent actuating means and detent means to said normal inoperative, deactuated and latched positions respectively.