Inertia catch for door latches
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A latch assembly selectively engaging a striker for latching a door to a motor vehicle body, said latch assembly comprising:
- a housing;
a ratchet rotatably mounted to said housing for movement between an engaged position engaging the striker and a release position;
a pawl rotatably mounted to said housing and engageable with said ratchet to retain said ratchet in said engaged position; and
an inertia catch coupled to the housing and operably connected to said pawl for preventing said pawl from moving out of engagement with said ratchet in the event of a motor vehicle impact.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A latch assembly is provided for selectively engaging a striker in order to latch a door to a motor vehicle body. The latch assembly includes a housing. A ratchet is rotatably mounted to the housing for movement between an engaged position engaging the striker and a release position. A pawl is rotatably mounted to the housing and engageable with the ratchet to retain the ratchet in the engaged position. An inertia catch is coupled to the housing and is operably connected to the pawl for preventing the pawl from moving out of engagement with the ratchet in the event of a motor vehicle impact.
-
Citations
18 Claims
-
1. A latch assembly selectively engaging a striker for latching a door to a motor vehicle body, said latch assembly comprising:
-
a housing;
a ratchet rotatably mounted to said housing for movement between an engaged position engaging the striker and a release position;
a pawl rotatably mounted to said housing and engageable with said ratchet to retain said ratchet in said engaged position; and
an inertia catch coupled to the housing and operably connected to said pawl for preventing said pawl from moving out of engagement with said ratchet in the event of a motor vehicle impact. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A latch assembly selectively engaging a striker for latching a door to a motor vehicle body, said latch assembly comprising:
-
a housing;
a ratchet rotatably mounted to said housing for movement between an engaged position engaging the striker and a release position;
a pawl rotatably mounted to said housing and engageable with said ratchet to retain said ratchet in said engaged position;
an auxiliary pawl lever rotatably mounted to said housing and operably coupled to said pawl for moving said pawl out of engagement with said ratchet; and
an inertia lever rotatably mounted to said housing and having a lip engageable with said auxiliary pawl lever in the event of a motor vehicle impact to prevent said auxiliary pawl lever from moving said pawl out of engagement with said ratchet. - View Dependent Claims (13)
-
-
14. A latch assembly selectively engaging a striker for latching a door to a motor vehicle body, said latch assembly comprising:
-
a housing;
a ratchet rotatably mounted to said housing for movement between an engaged position engaging the striker and a release position;
a pawl rotatably mounted to said housing and engageable with said ratchet to retain said ratchet in said engaged position;
a plunger operably coupled to said pawl and movable between a rest position and an extended position in which said pawl is moved out of engagement with said ratchet to allow said ratchet to move into said release position; and
an inertia lever engageable with said plunger in response to a motor vehicle impact for preventing said plunger from moving into said extended position. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
-
Specification