Patent Application
20090033108
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to door latching assemblies for vehicles, especially for motor vehicles like medium and heavy duty trucks and buses, and trailers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many motor vehicles use cables to allow the inside and outside door handles to operate the door latches independent of each other. For some motor vehicles, medium and heavy duty trucks for example, the door latching system typically includes inside and outside handles and their handle assemblies which are located remotely to the latch assemblies. The handles attach to cables located within the door. The latch assemblies have latch trip levers connected to the locking mechanism of the latch. Each cable connects to one handle assembly and to the bottom of the latch trip lever of the latch assembly. A rod attaches to the top of the trip lever of both the upper and lower rotary latch assemblies.
To open the door with the inside handle as shown in
The door opens with the outside handle in a similar manner. Closing the door reverses the steps.
Unfortunately, the cables can break, rendering the doors inoperable. This makes it difficult to open and repair the door as well if the cable breaks with the door closed. Even when the door can be opened, the door must be disassembled to replace the broken cable.
Therefore, a need exists to provide a mechanism to allow the remote opening of door latches without requiring the use of a cable.
According to the invention there is provided a door latching assembly that can be used for vehicles. The door latching mechanisms uses a rotating disk assembly for allowing the opening and latching of a door with handles located remote to the latches. The assembly has at least one handle assembly and a hub assembly. The hub assembly has a rotatable disk mounting to a disk bracket assembly. At least one handle connector connects the hub assembly and the handle assembly. A latch connector connects to the hub assembly and the upper and lower latch assemblies.
Additional effects, features and advantages will be apparent in the written description that follows.
The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to the Figures where like reference numerals refer to like structures, a vehicle door 11 has a door latch assembly 10 located at least partially within the door 11 between the interior and exterior skins. As shown in
The hub assembly 16 has a hub disk assembly 33 and disk bracket assembly 48 attached to the door 11. The hub disk assembly has a rotatable disk 34. The hub disk assembly 33 mounts to the disk bracket assembly 48.
The first handle assembly 12 has an interior handle 18 located on the inside of the door 11 outside of the interior skin. The interior handle 18 connects to a handle shank 21 of a first disk assembly 20 located within the door 11. The first disk assembly has a rotatable second disk 34 and is mounted to a second disk bracket assembly 48.
The second handle assembly 14 has an exterior handle 22 located on the outside of the door 11 and disk bracket assembly 48 attached to the inside of the door 11. The exterior handle 22 connects to a second disk assembly 24 with a rotatable third disk 34 and is located within the door 11. The second disk assembly 24 mounts to a third disk bracket assembly 48. For some vehicles, such as a truck, the exterior handle 22 is located near the bottom of the door 11 and can be padlocked on the outside.
Turning to
A bearing shaft 76 extends outwardly from a face of the disk 34 at the center 37 and can border the opening 86. A groove 78 is located in the outside wall at one end of the bearing shaft 76 distal to the disk 34. The bearing shaft 76 can be hollow to allow a handle shank to fit within the bearing shaft 76 and through opening 86.
The disk 34 has a projection 38 with a base 82. The base 82 projects laterally from the edge 36 of the disk 34, then curves approximately parallel to the bearing shaft 76 toward the hub disk bracket assembly 48. The base 82 projects from at or near the radial slots 40, 41 and preferably between the radial slots 40, 41. Two arms 80, 81 can extend laterally from the base 82 and curve toward the bearing shaft 76.
Each disk bracket assembly 48, 49 has a mounting plate 96 with two lateral tabs 90, 91 projecting outwardly approximately 90 E at one end and head 99 at the opposite end. The mounting plate 96 can have opposite bracket arms 126, 127. The lateral tabs 90, 91 can have tab slots 91, 92 and shoulders 94, 95 with a gap 97 therebetween. A raised portion 98 is centrally located, preferably as part of the mounting plate 96. An aperture 100 in the raised portion 98 extends through the disk bracket assembly 48. A spring groove 102 in the raised portion 98 can surround the aperture 100.
A bracket tab 50, 51 projects outwardly from the mounting plate 96 approximately 90 E and parallel to one of the lateral tabs. The bracket tab 50 is located between the aperture 100 or raised portion 98 and lateral tab 91. Bracket tab 50 is used for doors having latches on the right side of the door when facing the door's interior (
A collar 106 extends from the mounting plate 96 and borders the aperture 100, preferably within the spring groove 102. Adjusting holes 104 are located in the outer wall of collar 106.
A torsion spring 108, 109 surrounds the outer wall of the collar 106, with at least part of the spring 108, 109 fitting into the spring groove 102 if used. Spring 108, 109 returns the disk 34 to a home position. A disk end 112, 113 of the spring 108, 109 engages the bore 88 of the disk 34, while an opposite collar end 114, 115 engages one of the adjusting holes 104. Spring 108 has a counterclockwise return orientation, while spring 109 has a clockwise return orientation.
The bearing shaft 76 inserts within the collar 106, with the bearing shaft groove 78 exposed on the opposite side of the mounting plate 96. Once sufficient tension is produced by the spring 108, 109, a retainer 111 engages the bearing shaft 76 to hold the disk 34 in place, for example a retaining ring 110 fitting within the bearing shaft groove 78.
The home position of the disk 34 occurs when the projection 38 engages the bracket tab. In the home position, the torsion spring 108, 109 is set at the desired torque, such as 0.452 N-m. Once the torque is set, the retainer 111 is mounted onto the bearing shaft 76, such as within the bearing shaft groove 78.
The hub assembly 16 connects to the first and second handle assemblies 12, 14 with handle connectors 28, 29. Handle connectors 28, 29 have a first clevis 56 and an opposite second clevis 58 at the ends of cables or preferably handle rods 30. First and second devises 56, 58 have opposite clevis arms 70, 71, 72, 73 with a clevis slot 84, 85 therebetween. The clevis arms 70, 71, 72, 73 can be the same length or different lengths.
The hub assembly 16 also engages a latch rod 60. The latch rod connects the upper and lower latch assemblies 64, 66. The latch rod 60 preferably has latch devises 62, 63 at each end. An upper latch clevis 62 engages an upper latch lever 68 of the upper latch assembly 64. The lower latch clevis 63 engages a lower latch lever 69 of the lower latch assembly 66. The upper and lower latch devises 62, 63 can have opposite latch clevis arms 116, 117 that are the same length or different lengths and a latch clevis slot 118 therebetween.
The first and second devises 56, 58 engage the disks 34 at peripheral slots 44, 45. The upper latch clevis 62 engages the disk 34 of the hub assembly 16 at the radial slot 41. The outer edge 36 of the disks 34 fits within one of the clevis slots 84, 85, 118 of the devises of the handle connectors and the latch clevis. The disk 34 fastens to the devises with fasteners 120, such as clevis pins, having shafts 122 that fit within the disk 34 peripheral slots 44, 45 and radial slot 41. The fastener 120 can extend through the mounting plate 96.
As shown in
Alternatively as shown in
In another alternative shown in
The interior and exterior handles 18, 22 of the door latch assembly 10 can be rotating handles 18, 22, paddle handles 19, 52 (
To open the door 11 from the inside as shown in
Closing the door forces the latch levers 68, 69 into the closed position. This releases the disk 34 of the hub assembly 16 and the spring 109. The spring 109 urges the disk 34 to rotate clockwise to return to the home position when the projection 38 reaches the disk bracket tab 51. Likewise, the disks of the first and second handle assemblies also return to their home positions.
There are a number of advantages of the door latching system of the invention. The cooperating disks eliminate the cables and thus the risk of breaking a cable. The system is more robust as rods are used, such as ¼″ diameter rods.
The door latching system of the invention is versatile. As shown in the
Another advantage of the door latching system of the invention is the system allows the use of multiple latches which are cooperatively opened from one handle, such as two or three latches for the door. The hardware can be used for multiple locations, such as the disk bracket assembly and the rotating disks for the internal and external handle assemblies and the hub assembly.
While the invention is shown in only one of its forms, it is not thus limited but is susceptible to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
