Automobile vehicle lock
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A lock assembly for a door comprising:
- a locking member movable between a locked position and a released position;
a pawl for holding said locking member in said locked position and movable to release said locking member;
an actuator activated from outside the door for moving said pawl and releasing said locking member;
a coupling mechanism including a coupling arm, said coupling arm movable between an enabled and a disabled position;
a lever operable from inside the door for moving said pawl to release said locking member when said coupling arm is in said enabled position, where said enabled position comprises said coupling arm disposed within a space defined between said pawl and said lever, said lever inoperable for moving said pawl when said coupling arm is in said disabled positions; and
a coupling release lever attached in said lever and movable into a position between said actuator and said pawl for forming a mechanical transmission path between said actuator and said pawl.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automobile vehicle lock is released under normal operating conditions by an electric motor. Under degraded conditions, a mechanical release of the lock is enabled. This allows the motor providing electrical release of the lock to be simply dimensioned for release under normal operating conditions with no requirement to over-dimension the motor to ensure the lock will open under degraded operating conditions. Because release of the lock is mechanical under degraded operating conditions, enablement of the mechanical release is provided by a low-power standby motor. This allows a compact and inexpensive standby power source to be employed.
74 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A lock assembly for a door comprising:
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a locking member movable between a locked position and a released position;
a pawl for holding said locking member in said locked position and movable to release said locking member;
an actuator activated from outside the door for moving said pawl and releasing said locking member;
a coupling mechanism including a coupling arm, said coupling arm movable between an enabled and a disabled position;
a lever operable from inside the door for moving said pawl to release said locking member when said coupling arm is in said enabled position, where said enabled position comprises said coupling arm disposed within a space defined between said pawl and said lever, said lever inoperable for moving said pawl when said coupling arm is in said disabled positions; and
a coupling release lever attached in said lever and movable into a position between said actuator and said pawl for forming a mechanical transmission path between said actuator and said pawl. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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6. A lock assembly for a door comprising:
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a locking member movable between a locked position and a released position;
an actuator activated from outside the door for releasing said locking member;
a coupling mechanism movable between an enabled and a disabled position;
a lever operable from inside the door for releasing said locking member when said coupling mechanism is in said enabled position, said lever inoperable for releasing said locking member when said coupling mechanism is in said disabled position;
a pawl holding said locking member in said locked position and movable to release said locking member, said pawl movable in response to both said actuator and said lever; and
a coupling release lever attached to said lever and movable into a position between said actuator and said pawl for forming a mechanical transmission path between said actuator and said pawl, wherein said coupling release lever activates said actuator when in said position between said actuator and said pawl.
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11. A module for a door comprising:
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a lock having a locking member movable between a locked position and a released position;
a pawl for holding said locking member in said locked position and movable to release said locking member;
an actuator activated from outside the door for moving said pawl and releasing said locking member;
a coupling mechanism including a coupling arm, said coupling arm movable between an enabled and disabled position;
a lever operable from inside the door for moving said pawl to release said locking member when said coupling arm is in said enabled position, wherein said enabled position comprises said coupling arm disposed within a space defined between said pawl and said lever, said lever inoperable for moving said pawl when said coupling arm is in said disabled position; and
a coupling release lever attached to said lever and movable into a position between said actuator and said pawl for forming a mechanical transmission path between said actuator and said pawl. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 15)
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14. A module for a door comprising:
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a lock having a locking member movable between a locked position and a released position;
an actuator activated from outside the door for releasing said locking member;
a coupling mechanism movable between an enabled and a disabled position;
a lever operable from inside the door for releasing said locking member when said coupling mechanism is in said enabled position, said lever inoperable for releasing said locking member when said coupling mechanism is in said disabled position; and
a coupling release lever attached to said lever and movable into a position between said actuator and said pawl for forming a mechanical transmission path between said actuator and said pawl wherein said coupling release lever activates said actuator when in said position between said actuator and said pawl.
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Specification