Delay apparatus for opening of vehicle door
AssigneeIllinois Tool Works Inc.
InventorJOEL R. LEE
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An inertia activated mechanism associated with a door latch mechanism of a vehicle obstructs operation of a door handle assembly when the inertia activated mechanism is subjected to acceleration forces from a vehicle event. Delaying structure in the inertia activated mechanism momentarily delays return to the pre-event condition during rapidly changing acceleration of the vehicle event.
Claims20
An inertia activated mechanism coupled to a door latch mechanism in a door of a vehicle, the door latch mechanism having a moving component that is moved to unlatch the door, the inertia activated mechanism comprising
- a housing defining a window;
- a bar slidable in said housing and extending outwardly from said window;
- a tether movable in said housing and having an end connected to said bar;
- a spring biasing said bar to a home position;
- a weight connected to an opposite end of said tether from said end connected to said bar, said weight being movable relative to said housing and said tether from acceleration forces experienced during a vehicle event, movement of said weight causing movement of said bar from said home position to an active position;
- said bar disposed in a non-interfering position relative to the moving component of the door latch mechanism when said bar is in said home position, and disposed in an interfering position relative to the moving component of the door latch mechanism in the active position, to impede operation of the door latch mechanism upon the inertia activated mechanism being activated by a vehicle event;
- and
- said housing and said bar defining delaying structure for delaying return of said bar to said home position from said active position.
An inertia activated mechanism that resists unlatching of a door of a vehicle during a vehicle event, comprising:
- a housing defining a window;
- a weight;
- a bar movable in the housing and extending outwardly from the window, the bar preventing a pivoting cam of a door latch mechanism from rotating when a vehicle event force is applied to the weight and the bar is in an active position;
- a tether that attaches to the weight to the bar;
- a spring that restrains the weight and the bar in a home position when a vehicle event force is absent and urges the bar and the weight to the home position from the active position;
- the weight being displaced relative to the housing when a vehicle event force is applied to the assembly, the weight moving the bar to the active position;
- and
- a delaying feature momentarily delaying return of the bar to the home position from the active position during changing forces of a vehicle event.
A door latch mechanism that resists unlatching of a vehicle door during an event of an associated vehicle, comprising:
- a door handle assembly including a pivoting cam that moves to unlatch the vehicle door;
- an inertia activated mechanism including a housing, a weight that is displaced from a home position when a force from the event is applied to the weight;
- a spring that restrains the weight to the home position when the force is not applied;
- a bar that prevents the pivoting cam from rotating when the bar engages the pivoting cam;
- a cable that attaches to the weight and to the bar, and that causes the bar to engage the cam when the weight component is displaced;
- and
- delaying structure in the inertia activated mechanism delaying return of the bar to the home position from the active position when the weight returns to the home position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.