Closure fasteners – Bolts – Swinging
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-30
2001-07-31
Estremsky, Gary W. (Department: 3627)
Closure fasteners
Bolts
Swinging
C292SDIG004
Reexamination Certificate
active
06267420
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a latch mechanism for an open-close member of a vehicle, and more particularly to a latch mechanism having the function of keeping an open-close member such as a trunk lid from being locked only by performing the operation of closing the open-close member.
2. Description of the Related Art
Trunk lids of such as passenger cars are held in unlocked condition after the lid is caused to be slightly opened by operating a lock releasing knob from within the car or inserting a key into the keyhole formed in the lid and turning the key so as to disengage the latch portion of a latch mechanism from a striker. Then the lid is opened wide manually from the above condition and while the lid is left open, baggage can be taken in and out of the trunk room.
When the lid is shut, moreover, the lid is automatically locked by closing the lid manually with great force so as to engage the latch portion with the striker.
However, the following problems would arise from the aforementioned mechanism:
One of the problems is that the operation of closing the lid is often performed unconsciously and whenever the lid is closed unnecessarily, the key or knob operation will be needed to open the lid again on all such occasions, which is very troublesome. If a driver closes the lid while the key is left in the trunk room with all of the car doors locked, the driver will be unable to get into the vehicle without a spare key.
Another problem refers to a case where a child staying inside the trunk room manages to close the lid from inside in such a state that its parents are entirely unaware of the happening.
In that case, the fact that the locking device is usually impossible to unlock from inside of the trunk room could lead to a serious accident.
In this respect, according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,326, for example, a mechanism for making a locking device unlockable on the inside of a trunk room is added so that when any person is locked into the trunk room by mistake, the locking device can be unlocked from inside of the trunk room by pulling a lock releasing string attached to the mechanism, whereby the person is allowed to escape from the trunk room.
Notwithstanding, the aforementioned arrangement is intended not for a case where the key is left inside the trunk room but for a case where a person has been locked into the trunk room.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a latch mechanism of an open-close member for a vehicle, which mechanism is not locked only through the operation of closing a lid and capable of causing the lid to be closed and locked by the addition of a reset operation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a latch mechanism for an open-close member of a vehicle, which mechanism permits selecting one of two ways including (i) locking the mechanism only through the operation of closing a lid and (ii) locking the mechanism by adding a reset operation to the operation of closing the lid.
A latch mechanism of an open-close member for a vehicle to which the invention is applied comprises: a base plate whose lower portion branches out into a forked shape abutting against a striker, a latch plate that is pivotally supported by one branch surface of the base plate and has the striker fitted in when a lid is closed, a detent lever that is pivotally supported by the other branch surface and holds the latch plate in latched condition, and an open lever for separating the latch plate from the striker by abutting against the detent lever.
According to the present invention, the latch mechanism is provided with a stopper lever pivotally supported by the base plate and used for controlling the pivoting of the detent lever toward the latch plate by abutting against the upper end of the detent lever. The stopper lever is urged and pivoted by an elastic member toward the detent lever at all times. A reset lever pivotably supported by the base plate is also provided, one end of the reset lever mating with the stopper lever, the other end thereof having a lock-releasing knob. The reset lever is pivoted through the operation of the knob between two position including (i) one position where the pivoting of the detent lever is controlled by the stopper lever and (ii) the other position where the control of the pivoting thereof is released.
According to the present invention, the lid will never be locked in the closed condition without operating the reset lever.
It is preferred to provide the latch plate with a portion for returning the reset lever to the pivotal control position by impinging on the reset lever when the lid is closed in the released condition of the pivotal control.
With the construction thus arranged, the reset lever is automatically returned to the pivotal control position simultaneously with the closed-lid locking operation and the lid will never be locked in the closed condition without operating the reset lever when the lid is opened next.
Moreover, it is also preferred to provide a cancel lever that is pivotally supported by the base plate and selectively holds the stopper lever through the pivotal operation in an abutment position or a non-abutment position relative to the detent lever.
With this construction, one of the two modes including (i) the aforementioned unlocking operation at the time of closing the lid and (ii) the conventional locking operation can be selected by the operation of the cancel lever.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4948184 (1990-08-01), Weyerstall
patent: 5074603 (1991-12-01), Brackmann
patent: 5137311 (1992-08-01), Brackmann
patent: 5445326 (1995-08-01), Ferro et al.
patent: 5769468 (1998-06-01), Armbruster
patent: 5868444 (1999-02-01), Brackmann
patent: 5897148 (1999-04-01), Arabia
patent: 5979951 (1999-11-01), Shimura
patent: 6109671 (2000-08-01), Roncin
Estremsky Gary W.
Foley & Lardner
Ohi Seisakusho Co. Ltd.
LandOfFree
Latch mechanism for open-close member of a vehicle does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Latch mechanism for open-close member of a vehicle, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Latch mechanism for open-close member of a vehicle will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2492148