Door lock apparatus

• US 6,550,826 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2000
• Issued: 04/22/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsui Kinzoku Act Corporation (Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Ohi Seisakusho Co., Ltd. (Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Fukushima, Yasuyuki, Takamura, Noboru, Taga, Shigenori, Yamagishi, Jun
• Primary Examiner(s): Brittain, James R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lugo, Carlos
• Application Number:
  US09/746,126
• Publication Number:
  US 20010005078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 851 Days
• Field of Search: 292/201, 292/216, 292/DIG.23
• US Class Current: 292/201
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 81/14 operating on bolt detents, e.g. for unlatching the bolt
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 81/20 for assisting final closing or for initiating opening
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 292/23 Vehicle door latches
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/1047 Closure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/1082 Motor

Abstract

A door lock apparatus has a handle switch (31), which is placed in the on condition when an actuator member for opening and closing a back door is operated, an open switch (16), which is placed in the on condition when the door is closed to within a prescribed closure range, a drive circuit, which is formed so as to drive a door lock disengaging motor (25) when both the handle switch (31) and the open switch (16) are in the on condition, and a self-holding circuit holding a condition in which the drive circuit is formed and, in response to the open switch going into to off condition, releasing the condition in which the drive circuit is formed.

Claims

1. A door closure apparatus comprising:

a door locker selectably operative to engage and disengage a striker and shiftable from a locking state thereof to an unlocked state thereof;

a shifter operatively associated with the door locker and operative to effect a shift of the door locker from the locking state to the unlocked state; and

a prohibitor operatively associated with the shifter to prohibit a reversal of the shifter and comprising a supply maintaining element selectably operative to maintain a supply of power to a drive of the shifter, and a supply interrupter operative to detect a completion of the shift of the door locker to interrupt the supply of power to the drive;

the door locker comprising;

a latch mechanism;

a first tendency provider operative to provide the latch mechanism with a first tendency to unlatch; and

a tendency restricter selectably operative to provide a restriction to the first tendency, whereby the door closure apparatus is operative to have the locking state with the latch mechanism in a latching state, and to have the unlocked state with the latch mechanism in an unlatched state;

the shifter comprising a mechanical element operative to interrupt the restriction of the first tendency, in a first position thereof;

the drive being operative to drive the mechanical element to the first position; and

the prohibitor being operative to prohibit a stop after startup of the drive; and

the drive comprises;

a motor;

a first circuit operative to supply electric power to the motor;

a first switch installed in the first circuit;

an actuator operative to actuate the first switch; and

a second circuit operative to supply electric power to the actuator; and

the supply maintaining element comprising a diode circuit interconnecting a ground end of a node of the first circuit and a power supply end of the actuator of the second circuit, so that the second circuit maintains power to the motor if the first switch interrupts the first circuit.

2. A door closure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the supply interrupter comprises:

a detecting element operative to detect the latching state and the unlatched of the latch mechanism; and

a second switch installed in the second circuit and operative to close as the detecting element detects the latching state, and operative to open as the detecting element detects the unlatched state, thereby interrupting the supply of power to the motor through the supply maintaining circuit.

3. A door closure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second circuit comprises a third switch to be manually operative.

4. A door closure apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second circuit comprises a fourth switch to be externally controllable.

5. A door closure apparatus comprising:

a door locker selectably operative to engage and disengage a striker and shiftable from a locking state thereof to an unlocked state thereof;

a shifter operatively associated with the door locker and operative to effect a shift of the door locker from the locking state to the unlocked state; and

a prohibitor operatively associated with the shifter to prohibit a reversal of the shifter and comprising a supply maintaining element selectably operative to maintain a supply of power to a drive of the shifter, and a supply interrupter operative to detect a completion of the shift of the door locker to interrupt the supply of power to the drive;

the door locker comprising;

a latch mechanism;

a first tendency provider operative to provide the latch mechanism with a first tendency to unlatch; and

a tendency restricter selectably operative to provide a restriction to the first tendency, whereby the door closure apparatus is operative to have the locking state with the latch mechanism in a latching state, and to have the unlocked state with the latch mechanism in an unlatched state;

the shifter comprising a mechanical element operative to allow the restriction of the first tendency, in a second position thereof; and

the shifter comprising a second tendency provider operative to provide the mechanical element with a second tendency to have the second position.

6. A door closure apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the second tendency provider comprises:

a rotary member operative to swingably pivot the mechanical element;

a bias member operative to bias the rotary member in a prescribed rotational direction; and

a movement restricter operative to restrict movement of a swinging end of the mechanical element, to displacement relative to the tendency restricter.

7. A door closure apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the second tendency provider comprises a rotation restricter operative to restrict rotation of the rotary member.

8. A door closure apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the rotation restricter comprises:

a stopper provided on the rotary member; and

a protrusion provided on a support member supporting the rotary member and configured to be engageable at an end thereof with the stopper.

9. A door closure apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the rotation restricter comprises a buffer provided on the rotary member and operative to be engageable with another end of the protrusion.

10. A door closure apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the drive comprises:

a driven gear (24) meshed with the rotary member; and

a motor (25) operative to drive the driven gear.