Vehicle sliding door locking system and latch assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9650816-B2
Application number	US-201414333032-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 16, 2014
Priority date	Jul 16, 2014
Publication date	May 16, 2017
Grant date	May 16, 2017

Abstract

A locking system including a latch assembly that actuates a cancel cable and thereby a cancel lever of a lock device includes a latch lever that has a first engaging surface and receives a striker positioned at the end of a rail of a vehicle, a cancel latch lever including an engagement tab that is engaged by the first engaging surface of the latch lever in an overstroke position of the latch lever, and a cancel cable that interrupts a transmission of power from an actuator to a lock device in accordance with a rotation of the latch cancel lever occurring from an engagement of the engagement tab with the engagement surface.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A latch assembly for vehicle door arm assembly, the vehicle door arm assembly including a striker, the latch assembly comprising:
a latch lever including a first engagement surface, a second engagement surface, and a latch lever pin that extends from a surface of the latch lever, and
a cancel lever including an engagement tab that extends from a surface of the cancel lever, a mounting portion to which a cancel cable is mounted, and a latch pinhole through which the latch lever pin extends;
a rotation pin around which each of the latch lever and the cancel lever rotates,
wherein the latch lever is configured to receive the striker between the first engagement surface and the second engagement surface which rotates the latch lever in a first direction relative to the cancel lever and the latch lever pin moves within the latch pinhole,
wherein the latch assembly is in a locking position when the latch lever is rotated to a first position so that the latch lever pin is located at an end of the latch pinhole, and
wherein the latch lever rotates more than the first position, the latch lever contacts the engagement tab so that the latch lever and cancel lever rotate together and the cancel lever retracts the cancel cable.

2. The latch assembly of claim 1 ,
wherein the cancel cable includes a first end and a second end,
wherein the first end is connected to the mounting portion of the cancel lever and the second end is connected to a canceling member of a door mechanism,
wherein the door mechanism includes an electric motor and a power transmission mechanism that applies a driving force of the electric motor to release a lock of the door, and
wherein the rotation of the cancel lever retracts the cancel cable and actuates the cancel member to interrupt a transmission of the driving force of the electric motor to the lock by the power-transmission member.

3. The latch assembly of claim 1 , wherein the cancel lever is mounted above the latch lever.

4. The latch assembly of claim 3 ,
wherein a side of the latch lever contacts the engagement tab to rotate the cancel lever about the rotation pin with the latch lever and retracts the cancel cable.

5. The latch assembly of claim 1 , wherein the latch assembly further comprises:
a ratchet including a resilient member mounting portion to which a first end of a resilient member is mounted and a ratchet locking portion that engages with the second engagement surface.

6. The door arm assembly of claim 5 ,
wherein a second end of the resilient member is connected to the latch lever pin, and
wherein the latch lever rotates in the first direction against a biasing force applied by the resilient member to the latch lever pin.

7. A vehicle door opening and closing device a comprising:
an inside handle that is operated from a vehicle interior;
an outside handle that is operated from a vehicle exterior;
a locking mechanism including a lock that is actuated at a predetermined position of a vehicle door to lock the vehicle door in a locking state;
an open mechanism that is operated according to an operation of the inside handle or an operation of the outside handle to release the lock of the locking mechanism in the locking state;
a release mechanism including an electric motor and a power-transmission member that transmits power of the electric motor to the open mechanism to actuate the open mechanism by a driving force of the electric motor to release the lock from the locking state;
a cancel mechanism that interrupts a transmission of the driving force of the electric motor to the open mechanism by the power-transmission member; and
an arm assembly attached to the vehicle door to engage a lower rail in a vehicle body and including a latch assembly operably connected to the cancel mechanism by a cancel cable,
wherein the latch assembly moves with the vehicle door and receives a striker in a locked position of the vehicle door and the cancel cable does not move to actuate the cancel mechanism, and
wherein the latch assembly moves with the vehicle door past the locked position the cancel cable retracts to actuate the cancel mechanism.

8. The vehicle door opening/closing device of claim 7 , wherein the latch assembly comprises:
a latch lever including a first engagement surface, a second engagement surface, and a latch lever pin that extends from a surface of the latch lever, and
a cancel lever including an engagement tab that extends from a surface of the cancel lever, a mounting portion to which a cancel cable is mounted, and a latch pinhole through which the latch lever pin extends;
a rotation pin around which each of the latch lever and the cancel lever rotates,
wherein the latch lever is configured to receive the striker between the first engagement surface and the second engagement surface which rotates the latch lever in a first direction relative to the cancel lever and the latch lever pin moves within the latch pinhole, wherein the latch assembly is in a locking position when the latch lever is rotated to a first position so that the latch lever pin is located at an end of the latch pinhole, and
wherein the latch lever rotates more than the first position, the latch lever contacts the engagement tab so that the latch lever and cancel lever rotate together and the cancel lever retracts the cancel cable.

Assignees

• Aisin Technical Ct America Inc

Inventors

• Okuma Emiko

Classifications

• E05B81/20

  for assisting final closing or for initiating opening · CPC title

• E05B83/40 Primary

  for sliding doors · CPC title

• E05B81/25

  Actuators mounted separately from the lock and controlling the lock functions through mechanical connections · CPC title

• E05B81/06

  using rotary motors · CPC title

• E05B79/20

  using flexible connections, e.g. Bowden cables · CPC title