Door lock for a motor vehicle

• US 6,705,649 B1
• Filed: 09/28/2001
• Issued: 03/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kiekert AG (Lingyun Industrial Corporation Limited)
• Original Assignee: Kiekert AG (Lingyun Industrial Corporation Limited)
• Inventors: Reddmann, Uwe
• Primary Examiner(s): Swann, J. J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HO, THOMAS YIH
• Application Number:
  US09/937,959
• Time in Patent Office: 900 Days
• Field of Search: 292/201, 292/216, 292/DIG.23
• US Class Current: 292/216
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 77/28 for anti-theft purposes, e.g. double-locking or super-locking
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 81/06 using rotary motors
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 81/14 operating on bolt detents, e.g. for unlatching the bolt
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 81/16 operating on locking elements for locking or unlocking action
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 292/23 Vehicle door latches
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/1047 Closure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/1082 Motor

Abstract

The invention relates to a door lock for a motor vehicle. The principal design of the inventive door lock comprises a rotary lock (1), a lock pawl (2) an actuation lever system (3), a latching lever system (5) and a central locking drive (10a, 10b, 11) for a central locking element (8). The central locking element (8) comprises, in addition to the first forked arm (13), at least one second forked arm (14). Both forked arms (13, 14) project at least partially into the arc of rotation of an eccentric control pin (12) of the central locking drive (10a, 10b).

Claims

1. A motor-vehicle door latch comprising:

a pivotal latch member;

a pawl operable to hold and release the latch member;

an actuating system;

a latching lever coupled to the actuating system and having an unlocking formation and a locking formation;

a one-piece central-locking element between the latching lever and the pawl and pivotal about an element axis between a locked position, an unlocked position, and an antitheft position, the central-locking element being formed with radially outwardly open first and second adjacent fork seats and having a central-locking pin that assumes together with the central-locking element the unlocked, locked, and antitheft positions, the latching lever cooperating with the central-locking element in the unlocked and locked positions, the unlocking formation and the locking formations moving on pivoting of the latching lever through respective arcs about a pivot axis of the latching lever and the central-locking pin describing on pivoting of the central-locking element about the element axis a pin arc, the arcs of the formations crossing the pin arc while the arcs of the formations are spaced in the antitheft position from the central-locking pin; and

drive means having a drive pin movable along an arcuate path and engageable in the fork seats for displacing the central-locking element between the locked, unlocked, and antitheft positions, the unlocking formation being effective on the central-locking element for moving the central-locking element into the locked position and the locking formation on the central-locking pin for moving the central-locking element into the locked position.

2. The motor-vehicle door latch according to claim 1 wherein the fork seats are formed on a common arc of an arcuate segment of the central-locking element.

3. The motor-vehicle door latch according to claim 2 wherein the fork seats form four control surfaces.

4. The motor-vehicle door latch according to claim 1 wherein the element axis of the central-locking element and the pivot axis of the latching lever are parallel to each other, the central-locking element and the latching lever lying in separate planes and partially overlapping each other.

5. The motor-vehicle door latch according to claim 4 wherein the latching lever assumes after each actuation a spring-supported rest position.

6. The motor-vehicle door latch according to claim 5 wherein the latching lever is connected by means of a link with an inside door handle.

7. The motor-vehicle door latch according to claim 6 wherein locking and unlatching of the motor-vehicle door latch require a double actuation of the door handle.

8. The motor-vehicle door latch according to claim 6 wherein the link is an actuation rod or Bowden cable.