The present invention relates to a closure latch for a vehicle door, and more particularly to a closure latch for a vehicle door that is configured to prevent the door from opening during a vehicle crash event.
In vehicle door closure latches it is beneficial to at least temporarily prevent the vehicle door from opening during a crash event, so as to reduce the likelihood of a vehicle occupant from being thrown from the vehicle. Several systems have been proposed for this purpose. In at least some cases, the proposed mechanisms are relatively complex and do not integrate easily into an existing closure latch assembly, requiring the closure latch assembly to be redesigned somewhat to accommodate them.
In one aspect, the invention is directed to a closure latch for a vehicle door, wherein during a crash event, the closure latch has an inertia member that prevents the vehicle door from opening. The inertia member may only temporarily prevent the vehicle door from opening, or alternatively it may cause a lock lever to move to a locked position, so that the vehicle door remains locked even after the inertia member is no longer actuated.
In a particular embodiment, the closure latch includes a ratchet movable between an open position and a closed position and is biased towards the closed position. The closure latch further includes a pawl movable between a ratchet locking position wherein the pawl holds the ratchet in the closed position and a ratchet release position wherein the pawl permits the ratchet to move to the open position. The pawl is biased towards the ratchet locking position. The closure latch further includes a lock link movable between an unlocked position wherein the lock link operatively connects an outside door release lever and the pawl, and a locked position wherein the lock link operatively disconnects the outside door release lever and the pawl. The lock link is biased towards the unlocked position. The closure latch further includes an inertia lever pivotable about an inertia lever pivot. The inertia lever is movable between a home position wherein the inertia lever permits the lock link to be in the unlocked position, and an actuated position wherein the inertia lever moves the lock link to the locked position. The inertia lever is movable to the actuated position by an actuation force that is at least a selected magnitude acting in a selected direction at the pivot. The inertia lever is biased towards the home position.
In another embodiment, the closure latch includes a ratchet movable between an open position and a closed position and biased towards the open position. The closure latch further includes a pawl movable between a ratchet locking position wherein the pawl holds the ratchet in the closed position and a ratchet release position wherein the pawl permits the ratchet to move to the open position. The pawl is biased towards the ratchet locking position. The closure latch further includes an inside door release lever movable between a home position wherein the inside door release lever permits movement of the pawl to the ratchet locking position, and a pawl release position wherein the inside door release lever moves the pawl to the ratchet release position. The inside door release lever is biased towards the home position. The closure latch further includes a lock link pivotable about a lock link pivot between an unlocked position wherein the lock link operatively connects an outside door release lever and the pawl, and a locked position wherein the lock link operatively disconnects the outside door release lever and the pawl. The lock link is biased towards the unlocked position. The lock link is movable to the locked position by an actuation force that is at least a selected magnitude acting in a selected direction at the lock link pivot.
The present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
a is a plan view of a closure latch for a vehicle door in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, showing an inertia lever in a home position;
b is a plan view of the vehicle latch shown in
a is a plan view of a closure latch in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, showing an inertia lever in a home position;
b is a plan view of the closure latch shown in
c is a plan view of the closure latch shown in
a is a plan view of a closure latch in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, showing an inertia lever in a home position; and
b is a plan view of the closure latch shown in
Reference is made to
The ratchet 12 is movable between a closed position (shown in
The pawl 14 is movable between a ratchet locking position (
The ratchet 12 and pawl 14 are positioned on one side of a wall 29 that is part of the housing for the closure latch 10. The pawl lever 15 is connected to the pawl 14 and operatively connects components on the other side of the wall 29 to the pawl 14.
The inside door release lever 16 may be operatively connected to the ratchet 12 for movement from the closed position to the open position. For example, the inside door release lever 16 may be movable between an inside door release lever home position (
An inside door release lever biasing member 30, such as a suitable spring, may be provided to bias the inside door release lever 16 towards its home position.
The lock link 20 is movable between an unlocked position (
In the locked position (
A lock link biasing member 31, such as a suitable spring, may be provided to bias the lock link 20 to the unlocked position.
The inertia lever 22 is pivotable about an inertia lever pivot 32 and, as a result of its weight distribution, is movable from a home position (
When the inertia lever 22 is in the home position (
After the forces of a crash event have subsided, there are no longer forces urging the inertia lever 22 to its actuated position. An inertia lever biasing member 35, such as a suitable spring, may be provided to bias the inertia lever 22 to its home position. Additionally, the lock link 20 may return to its unlocked position under the urging of the lock link biasing member 31.
Instead of providing a dedicated biasing member 35, the movement of the lock link 20 to its unlocked position could alternatively be used to move the inertia lever 22 to its home position. Thus the lock link biasing member 31 would also be an inertia lever biasing member that biases the inertia lever 22 towards its home position.
An outside door release lever biasing member 36, such as a suitable spring, may be provided to bias the outside door release lever 18 towards its rest position.
A benefit of the arrangement shown in
Reference is made to
A lock link biasing member 118, such as a suitable spring, may be provided to bias the lock link 106 to the unlocked position.
The lock lever 114 is movable between an unlocked position (
In the event of a vehicle crash while the lock link 106 is in the unlocked position, if a sufficiently large force or force component F is exerted in a selected direction shown by arrow 120 on the lock link pivot 116, the lock link 106 may be weighted in such a way that it rotates to its locked position (
If the lock link 106 is in the locked position (
In the embodiment shown in
Reference is made to
As a result of the arrangement shown in
Optionally, after the crash event, the latch controller (not shown) may sense that the crash event is over and may move the lock lever 114 to the unlocked position shown in
The lock link biasing member 118 may move the inertia lever 122 to its home position while moving the lock link 106 to its unlocked position. Thus the lock link biasing member 118 may also be the inertia lever biasing member. It is optionally possible for the inertia lever 122 to have a dedicated biasing member of its own to urge it towards its home position.
It will be noted that the inertia lever 122 can only act to move the lock lever 114 from the unlocked position to the locked position. By contrast, when the inertia lever 122 moves back to its home position under the urging of the inertia lever biasing member 126 (or under the urging of other forces present during the crash event), it does not bring the lock lever 114 back to the unlocked position.
In the embodiment shown in
While the above description constitutes a plurality of embodiments of the present invention, it will be appreciated that the present invention is susceptible to further modification and change without departing from the fair meaning of the accompanying claims.
This application claims the benefits of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/175,591, filed May 5, 2009.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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61175591 | May 2009 | US |