Vehicle door latch

A block out mechanism for an automotive vehicle door latch that includes a pivotally mounted operating lever that is rotated about a longitudinal axis by release means and that include levers that rotate about transverse axes to engage and rotate the operating lever, comprising;

• a support that is adapted to be secured to a frame of the door latch in a position near the pivotally mounted operating lever,
• a block out lever that is pivotally mounted on the support to pivot about a generally vertical axis between an unactuated position and an actuated position,
• spring means biasing the block out lever toward the unactuated position,
• the block out lever having a stop at one end and a sleeve at the other end that carries a pin of substantial weight so that the block out lever pivots toward the actuated position in response to deceleration of the vehicle,
• the stop being out of the path of movement of the operating lever when the block out lever is in the unactuated position,
• the stop being in the path of movement of the operating lever to prevent unlatching of the door latch when the block out lever is in the actuated position, and
• the weight of the pin being sufficient to pivot the block out lever to the actuated position before the release means rotates the operating lever any appreciable amount in response to vehicle deceleration.

An automotive vehicle door latch comprising:

• a pivotally mounted operating lever that is rotatable about a longitudinal axis,
• release means for rotating the operating lever to an unlatched position that includes at least one lever that rotates about a transverse axis,
• a block out lever that is pivotally mounted near the operating lever to pivot about a generally vertical axis between an unactuated position and an actuated position,
• spring means biasing the block out lever toward the unactuated position,
• the block out lever having a stop at one end and a weight at the other end so that the block out lever pivots toward the actuated position in response to deceleration in the longitudinal direction,
• the stop being out of the path of movement of the operating lever when the block out lever is in the unactuated position,
• the stop being in the path of movement of the operating lever to prevent unlatching of the door latch when the block out lever is in the actuated position, and
• the weight being selected to pivot the block out lever to the actuated position before the release means rotate the operating lever any appreciable amount in response to a predetermined deceleration.