Assembly of a door latch and anti-theft and anti-attack deactivating device for said latch, and latch which is part of said assembly

• US 4,802,350 A
• Filed: 04/25/1988
• Issued: 02/07/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rockwell-Cim
• Original Assignee: Rockwell-Cim
• Inventors: Periou, Pierre
• Primary Examiner(s): Wolfe, Robert L.
• Application Number:
  US07/185,638
• Time in Patent Office: 288 Days
• Field of Search: 70/264, 70/263, 70/241, 70/240, 292/201, 292/216, 292/280, 292/144, 292/210, 292/DIG. 25, 292/, 292/DIG. 26, 292/DIG. 27
• US Class Current: 70/264
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 77/12 Automatic locking or unlocking at the moment of collision
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 77/26 specially adapted for child safety
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 77/28 for anti-theft purposes, e.g. double-locking or super-locking
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 81/54 Electrical circuits for locking several wings simultaneously E05B77/48
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 85/243 with a bifurcated bolt
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/1047 Closure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/1082 Motor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 70/65 Central control

Abstract

The latch comprises a keeper (2), a fork member (3) provided with two branches (7, 8) for retaining the keeper (2), a catch (9) movable to a position for locking the fork member (3) on the keeper (2), and a control lever (12) for the catch (9) for unlocking the fork member (3). The lever (12) is connected to an outer or inner opening control (13, 14) and is associated with an electric deactivating circuit comprising switches (25, 26) and an electromechanism so arranged that an attempt to open in an unauthorized manner after the deactivation of the door causes the closure of one of the switches (25, 26) and the supply of current to the electromechanism which automatically releases the lever (12) from the catch (9) and prevents the unlocking of the latch by the catch. In the event of a breakdown of the supply battery, the lever (12) remains coupled to the catch (9) and permits the opening of the door. FIG. 1.

Claims

1. An assembly of a door latch and a device for deactivating said latch, in particular for a vehicle door, in which assembly the latch comprises a keeper for fixing on a frame of the door, a latch case, a fork member pivotally mounted in the latch case in which fork member is provided an opening for receiving said keeper, said fork member being provided with two branches for retaining the keeper therebetween, a catch pivotally mounted on the latch case and capable of being placed in a position for locking the fork member onto the keeper for maintaining the door closed, means for shifting the catch and permitting the locking and unlocking of the fork member and capable of being rendered inoperative by the deactivating device, wherein:

(a) the catch shifting means comprise a control lever, at least one manual control system for said lever connected to said lever to permit the shifting of the catch for the locking of the latch, and an electromechanism capable of maintaining the control lever coupled in rotation with the catch so long as said electromechanism is not supplied with electric current and capable of releasing the lever relative to the catch when the electromechanism is supplied with current;

(b) the deactivating device comprises a centralized electric control circuit associated with the manual control system for the lever and in which control circuit are inserted at least one switch capable of being closed by an approach travel of said control system, and the electromechanism, which is provided with means for automatically releasing the lever relative to the catch, said means for releasing being actuated after activation of the electric deactivating circuit by a closure of said switch which supplies current to the electromechanism, and means for automatically producing said closure of said switch by a manual attempt to actuate the control system for the lever.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, intended in particular for a vehicle door, said assembly comprising two manual control systems for the control lever which are respectively exterior and interior relative to the door, each manual control system being provided with a slide in which slide is provided an elongated opening through which opening an end portion of said control lever extends, an exterior control switch and an interior control switch respectively cooperative with a respective end of the slides arranged in such manner that, in the position of rest of the slides, the exterior and interior control switches are open and no current can therefore flow through the electromechanism which then maintains the control lever coupled in rotation with the catch, and the actuation of one of the slides causes the closure of the corresponding control switch and consequently, when said control switch is supplied with current, the automatic release by the electromechanism of the control lever relative to the catch, it then being no longer possible to open the latch.

3. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein the control lever and the catch are pivotally mounted on the latch case on a common pivot pin, and the electromechanism comprises a coil, a plunger axially slidable in the coil, the lever and the catch being respectively provided with an opening which openings are in alignment with each other, an elastically yieldable return element associated with the plunger for biasing the plunger into said aligned openings when the coil is not supplied with current, supply of current to the coil subsequent to the closure of one of said control switches causing the magnetic retraction of the plunger into said coil and consequently the extraction of the plunger from said aligned openings and the release of the control lever relative to the catch.

4. An assembly according to claim 2, comprising two links, an articulation pin articulating ends of said links together to form a toggle, the control leverl for the catch having two branches substantially in an L configuration and pivotally mounted at a junction of said branches of said lever on the latch case, one of said branches being engaged in said elongated openings of said slides, the other branch of said lever being articulated at one end to a first link of said two links, and a second link of said two links being articulated to the catch at an end of the second link opposed to said articulation pin, the electromechanism comprising a coil, a magnetic core disposed within said coil and a magnet fixed on one of said two links in confronting relation to the core and coil with poles of the same sign in confronting relation to each other so that, when current is supplied to the coil, the magnet is urged by the magnetic core and causes the pivoting of said two links about said articulation pin and consequently the release of the control lever relative to the catch, whereas, when the coil is not supplied with current, said two links of said toggle are maintained in the extension of each other by the magnet, which is attracted by the core, and couple the control lever with the catch.

5. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein the electric deactivating circuit comprises, connected to a DC power supply:

a first anti-theft reversing switch capable of being switched by a control means, namely selectively a coded manual key or a remote control, an anti-theft deactivating relay, a second anti-attack reversing switch and an anti-attack relay, the switch associated with the exterior control, the electromechanism, all these elements being connected in series, the electromechanism being connected, on one hand, to the switch associated with the exterior control and, on the other hand, with the anti-attack relay which is connected to be supplied with current by means of the anti-theft relay when a moving contact of the anti-theft relay is in a position of rest and said anti-attack switch is actuated.

6. An assembly according to claim 5, wherein the switch associated with the interior control is connected in parallel with the exterior control switch to the electromechanism and to the anti-theft relay, and a first diode is interposed between the exterior control switch and the anti-attack relay so as to allow the passage of current from the anti-attack relay to the exterior control switch, a second diode being connected to an output of the first diode and to the interior control switch so as to prevent the supply of current to the interior control switch by the anti-attack relay, but, on the contrary, allow current to be supplied to the switch associated with the exterior control by the anti-theft relay when the anti-theft relay is activated by the closure of the anti-theft switch, the first diode then preventing the passage of current to the anti-attack relay.

7. An assembly according to claim 6, wherein an "open door" safety switch associated with the fork member is interposed between the electromechanism of the door and the corresponding anti-attack relay, and a diode is placed between the anti-attack relay and said "open door" switch so that, when said front door is opened, the safety switch is closed and consequently connects a coil of the anti-attack relay to ground.

8. An assembly according to claim 5, further comprising an electric deactivation circuit for a second door, in particular a rear vehicle door, the anti-theft and anti-attack deactivating relays being also connected to said electric deactivating circuit for said second door, and said deactivating circuit of the second door comprising an electromechanism, two switches associated with the exterior and interior controls and diodes connected therebetween to permit as desired an anti-attack deactivation or an anti-theft deactivation of said second door.

9. An assembly according to claim 8, wherein the deactivating circuit of the second door is provided with "child safety" means for deactivating the interior control of said second door.

10. An assembly according to claim 9, wherein said "child safety" means comprise a "child" safety switch connected to the interior control switch and a fourth diode interposed between a connection of said child safety switch with the interior control switch and the second diode so as to prevent the passage of current to the second diode and to the exterior control switch.

11. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the latch case encloses all the following elements:

the mechamisms of the fork member, the catch, the lever, the slides and the switches so as to render it impossible to mechanically and electrically tamper with the assembly.