DOOR LATCH WITH OPENING MEMORY FEATURE
First Claim
1. A vehicle latch, comprising:
- a primary ratchet movable between an open position wherein the primary ratchet is positioned to receive a striker and a closed position wherein the primary ratchet is positioned to retain the striker, wherein the primary ratchet is biased towards the open position by a primary ratchet biasing member;
a primary pawl movable between a ratchet locking position wherein the primary pawl is positioned to hold the primary ratchet in the closed position and a ratchet release position wherein the primary pawl permits the movement of the primary ratchet out of the closed position, wherein the primary pawl is biased towards the ratchet locking position by a primary pawl biasing member;
a memory lever movable between a pawl blocking position in which the memory lever prevents movement of the primary pawl to the ratchet locking position and a pawl unblocking position wherein the memory lever permits movement of the primary pawl to the ratchet locking position, wherein the memory lever is biased towards the pawl blocking position by a memory lever biasing member; and
a release lever movable between a first position in which the release lever prevents movement of the memory lever to the pawl blocking position and a second position in which the release lever permits movement of the memory lever to the pawl blocking position and permits movement of the primary pawl to the ratchet release position, wherein the release lever is biased towards the first position by a release lever biasing member, wherein the release lever is operatively connectable to at least one of an inside door handle and an outside door handle for movement to the second position, wherein in an event in which the release lever is moved to the second position and the primary ratchet is restrained from movement to the open position, movement of the memory lever to the pawl blocking position drives the primary pawl to the ratchet release position.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A closure latch for a vehicle door is provided. The closure latch includes an emergency lock actuator to permit a person to lock the door in the event that the power lock actuator is unusable. The latch also includes an ‘impatient passenger’ feature, which permits the doors to be unlocked using the remote keyless-entry feature on the key fob even in a situation where an ‘impatient passenger’ had prematurely lifted the door handle of the vehicle. In some prior art latches, such an action by an ‘impatient passenger’ would prevent the drive motor on the latch from unlocking the latch, thereby necessitating the owner to press the unlock button on the key fob a second time. There is some overlap in the components that used for the ‘impatient passenger’ feature and the components used for the emergency lock actuator, thereby reducing cost and complexity of the latch.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A vehicle latch, comprising:
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a primary ratchet movable between an open position wherein the primary ratchet is positioned to receive a striker and a closed position wherein the primary ratchet is positioned to retain the striker, wherein the primary ratchet is biased towards the open position by a primary ratchet biasing member; a primary pawl movable between a ratchet locking position wherein the primary pawl is positioned to hold the primary ratchet in the closed position and a ratchet release position wherein the primary pawl permits the movement of the primary ratchet out of the closed position, wherein the primary pawl is biased towards the ratchet locking position by a primary pawl biasing member; a memory lever movable between a pawl blocking position in which the memory lever prevents movement of the primary pawl to the ratchet locking position and a pawl unblocking position wherein the memory lever permits movement of the primary pawl to the ratchet locking position, wherein the memory lever is biased towards the pawl blocking position by a memory lever biasing member; and a release lever movable between a first position in which the release lever prevents movement of the memory lever to the pawl blocking position and a second position in which the release lever permits movement of the memory lever to the pawl blocking position and permits movement of the primary pawl to the ratchet release position, wherein the release lever is biased towards the first position by a release lever biasing member, wherein the release lever is operatively connectable to at least one of an inside door handle and an outside door handle for movement to the second position, wherein in an event in which the release lever is moved to the second position and the primary ratchet is restrained from movement to the open position, movement of the memory lever to the pawl blocking position drives the primary pawl to the ratchet release position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A vehicle latch, comprising:
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a primary ratchet pivotally moveable between an open position in which the primary ratchet receives or releases a striker and a closed position in which the primary ratchet retains the striker; a primary pawl pivotally moveable between a ratchet locking position in which the primary pawl engages and maintains the primary ratchet in the closed position and a ratchet release position in which the primary pawl disengages the primary ratchet and permits movement of the primary ratchet to the open position; a memory lever pivotally movable between a pawl blocking position in which the memory lever engages the primary pawl and prevents the primary pawl from moving to the ratchet locking position and a pawl unblocking position in which the memory lever disengages the primary pawl and permits movement of the primary pawl to the ratchet locking position; and a release lever movable between a first position in which the release lever disengages the memory lever and permits movement of the memory lever to the pawl blocking position and a second position in which the release lever engages the memory lever and prevents the memory lever from moving to the pawl blocking position. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. A vehicle latch, comprising:
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a primary ratchet movable between an open position wherein the primary ratchet is positioned to receive a striker and a closed position; a primary pawl movable between a ratchet locking position and a ratchet release position; a memory lever movable between a pawl blocking position and a pawl unblocking position; a release lever movable between a first position and a second position; an auxiliary ratchet pivotally movable between a pawl enabling position and a pawl disabling position; and an auxiliary pawl pivotally movable between an auxiliary ratchet locking position and an auxiliary ratchet release position; wherein movement of the release lever to the second position drives the auxiliary pawl to the auxiliary ratchet release position, driving the auxiliary pawl to the auxiliary pawl to the auxiliary ratchet release position permits movement of the auxiliary ratchet to the pawl disabling position, and movement of the auxiliary ratchet to the pawl disabling position moves the primary pawl to the ratchet release position; and wherein movement of the release lever to the second position permits movement of the memory lever to the pawl blocking position, movement of the memory lever to the pawl blocking position forces the primary pawl toward the auxiliary ratchet and drives the auxiliary ratchet toward the pawl disabling position, and movement of the auxiliary ratchet to the pawl disabling position moves the primary pawl away from the primary ratchet and allows the memory lever to rotate to the pawl blocking position.
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Specification