Closure fasteners – Bolts – Swinging
Utility Patent
1998-12-18
2001-01-02
Gall, Lloyd A. (Department: 3627)
Closure fasteners
Bolts
Swinging
C292S216000, C292SDIG002
Utility Patent
active
06168215
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a door lock device for a vehicle and particularly, to a door lock device for a vehicle, including a casing fixed to a door and having a bulged portion which defines an ingress passage, a latch adapted to be engaged with a striker entering the ingress passage for turning movement, a ratchet capable of being turned between an engaged position in which the ratchet is engaged with the latch and a disengaged position in which such engagement is released, an open link connected at one end thereof to an open lever, and a locking lever connected to the other end of the open link.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such a door lock device is conventionally known, for example, from Japanese Patent Publication No.5-51750 and the like.
Such a door lock device is mounted to one end of a door which is pivotally supported at the other end thereof to a vehicle body for turning movement, and the back of a bulged portion included in a casing is disposed to face toward a glass sash which is mounted within the door so as to guide the lifting and lowering movements of a glass pane. In the door lock device disclosed in the above Japanese Patent Publication No.5-51750, however, the open link capable of swinging movement within a plane parallel to the turning axes of the latch and the ratchet is disposed on the back of the bulged portion. For this reason, the space occupied in the thickness-wise direction of the door by the door lock device is relatively large, and the degree of freedom in setting the thickness of the door is decreased.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a door lock device for a vehicle, wherein the space occupied by the door lock device in a direction to avoid the interference with the glass sash and in the thickness-wise direction of the door can be set at an extremely small value, and the degree of freedom in setting the door internal structure and the thickness of the door can be increased.
To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect and feature of the present invention, there is provided a door lock device for a vehicle, comprising a casing fixed to a door and having a bulged portion which is bulged inwards of the door to define an ingress passage into which a striker on a vehicle body side enters; a latch turnably supported on the casing, to be brought into engagement with the striker entering into the ingress passage for turning movement; a ratchet supported on the casing for turning movement between an engaged position in which the ratchet is engaged with the latch and a disengaged position in which such engagement is released; an open lever turnably carried on the casing and capable of receiving an operating force for releasing a locking state in which the ratchet is in engagement with the latch; an internal operating-force inputting means connected to the open lever to transmit to the open lever a door opening operation force depending on the door opening operation within the vehicle; a locked-state switch-over means which includes an open link connected at one end thereof to the open lever and which is capable of switching over an unlocked state in which the ratchet can be operated from the engaged position to the disengaged position in response to the turning movement of the open lever following input of the door opening operation force, and a locked state in which the operation of the ratchet from the engaged position to the disengaged position is impossible irrespective of the turning movement of the open lever following the input of the door opening operation force, wherein the open link which extends along a plane perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of the ingress passage and which is capable of being operated within such plane, is disposed sideways of the bulged portion on an opposite side from an inlet of the ingress passage.
With the arrangement of the above first feature, the open link can be operably disposed by effectively utilizing a space occupied by the bulged portion included in the casing, and a relatively large unoccupied space can be ensured between the door lock device and a glass sash, because it is unnecessary to ensure a large space required for the operation of the open link on the side of a back of the bulged portion. In addition, since the open link extends along the plane perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the ingress passage, the space for the open link disposed sideways of the bulged portion on the side opposite from the inlet of the ingress passage may be small and hence, the space occupied in the thickness-wise direction of the door by the door lock device may also be small.
According to a second aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to the arrangement of the first feature, the locked-state switch-over means includes at least the open link, and a locking lever connected to the other end of the open link for operation between an unlocking position in which an operating force for operating the ratchet from the engaged position to the disengaged position in response to the operation of the open lever following the input of the opening operation force can be transmitted from the open link to the ratchet, and a locking position in which the transmission of the operating force from the open link to the ratchet is impossible, irrespective of the operation of the open lever, and wherein the cover mounted to the casing to cover the open link and the locking lever is provided with a guide groove for guiding the operation of the open link. With such arrangement, since the open link and the locking lever are covered with the cover an exclusive tool cannot be inserted into the door to be engaged with the open link or the locking lever. Thus, it is possible to prevent the open link or the locking lever from being operated as undesired by the exclusive tool and hence, the steal-preventing property can be enhanced. Moreover, the open link can reliably be operated by guiding the operation of the open link in the guide groove provided in the cover.
According to a third aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to the arrangement of the second feature, a plurality of ribs are fixedly provided on an inner side of the guide groove to come into sliding contact with opposite sides of the open link. With such arrangement, the chattering of the open link can reliably be eliminated, thereby effectively preventing the generation of noise during traveling of the vehicle or during opening and closing of the door.
According to a fourth aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to the arrangement of the second feature, a knob lever is connected to the locking lever to operate the locking lever between the unlocking position and the locking position, the knob lever being integrally provided with a shaft section having the same axis as a turning axis of the knob lever, and the locking lever is relatively non-turnably connected to the shaft section. With such arrangement, since the locking lever is relatively non-turnably connected to the shaft section integral with the knob lever, the locking lever and the knob lever can be supported commonly, and can be supported for turning movement by a small number of parts and in a small number of assembling steps. Moreover, the locking lever and the knob lever are turned in unison with each other about the same axis, leading to an excellent efficiency of transmission of the force between the knob lever and the locking lever.
According to a fifth aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to the arrangement of the fourth feature, a cylinder lever connected to a key cylinder lock is connected to the shaft section for turning movement in unison with each other about the same axis as the shaft section. With such arrangement, the cylinder lever, in addition to the knob lever and the locking lever, can be turned about the same axis, and the knob lever, the locking lever and the cylinder lever can be supported for t
Kodama Naoki
Kumamoto Takahiro
Kurita Tsutomu
Sonoda Toshihiko
Taniguchi Takeshi
Arent Fox Kintner & Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC
Gall Lloyd A.
Kabushiki Kaisha Honda Lock
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