Vehicle closure latch

A vehicle closure latch for mounting on a vehicle closure so as to engage and retain a striker mounted on a vehicle body when the vehicle closure is closed, the vehicle closure latch comprising:

• a housing having a cover plate and a back plate;
• a ratchet pivotably mounted in the housing behind the cover plate for movement between a latched position and an unlatched position;
• the ratchet having a latching tooth and a throat for receiving a striker;
• a pawl pivotably mounted in the housing behind the cover plate for movement between an engaged position and a releasing position, the pawl having a pawl tooth that engages the latching tooth of the ratchet to hold the ratchet in the latched position;
• means for securing the vehicle closure latch to a vehicle closure consisting of first and second series of aligned bolt holes extending through the cover plate, the housing and the back plate;
• and
• the housing having a throat for receiving a striker and the cover plate having tabs that are located on opposite sides of the throat for retaining the ratchet in the housing.

A vehicle closure latch for mounting on a vehicle closure so as to engage and retain a striker mounted on a vehicle body when the vehicle closure is closed, the vehicle closure latch comprising:

• a plastic housing having a metal cover plate, and a metal back plate;
• a ratchet pivotably mounted in the plastic housing behind the cover plate for movement between a latched position and an unlatched position by a ratchet stud that fastens the plastic housing, the metal cover plate and the metal back plate together, the ratchet having a latching tooth and having a throat for receiving the striker;
• a pawl pivotably mounted in the plastic housing behind the cover plate member for movement between an engaged position and a releasing position by a pawl stud that fastens the plastic housing, the metal cover plate and the metal back plate together,
• the pawl having a pawl tooth that engages the latching tooth of the ratchet to hold the ratchet in the latched position;
• means for securing the vehicle closure latch to a vehicle door comprising first and second series of aligned bolt holes extending through the metal cover plate, the plastic housing and the metal back plate,
• the first series of bolt holes and the ratchet stud being approximate the opposite sides of the engaged teeth of the ratchet and pawl,
• the first series of bolt holes, the ratchet stud and the pawl stud forming an imaginary triangle that contains the engaged teeth of the ratchet, and
• the ratchet stud and the second series of holes being approximate opposite sides of the throat of the ratchet when it is in a full latch or an intermediate latch position.

A vehicle closure latch for mounting on a vehicle closure so as to engage and retain a striker mounted on a vehicle body when the vehicle closure is closed, the vehicle closure latch comprising:

• a plastic housing having a metal cover plate, and a metal back plate;
• a ratchet pivotably mounted in the plastic housing behind the cover plate for movement between a latched position and an unlatched position by a ratchet stud that fastens the plastic housing, the metal cover plate and the metal back plate together, the ratchet having a latching tooth and having a throat for receiving the striker;
• a pawl pivotably mounted in the plastic housing behind the cover plate for movement between an engaged position and a releasing position by a pawl stud that fastens the plastic housing, the metal cover plate and the metal back plate together,
• the pawl having a pawl tooth that engages the latching tooth of the ratchet to hold the ratchet in the latched position;
• means for securing the vehicle closure latch to a vehicle door comprising first and second series of aligned bolt holes extending through the metal cover plate, the plastic housing and the metal back plate,
• the first series of bolt holes and the ratchet stud being approximate the opposite sides of the engaged teeth of the ratchet and pawl,
• the first series of bolt holes, the ratchet stud and the pawl stud forming an imaginary triangle that contains the engaged teeth of the ratchet,
• the ratchet stud and the second series of holes being approximate opposite sides of the throat of the ratchet when it is in a full latch or an intermediate latch position;
• and
• the housing having a throat for receiving a striker, the cover plate having a slot that is aligned with the throat of the housing, and the cover plate having perpendicular tabs that are located on opposite sides of the slot for retaining the ratchet in the housing.

A vehicle closure latch for mounting on a vehicle closure so as to engage and retain a striker mounted on a vehicle body when the vehicle closure is closed, the vehicle closure latch comprising:

• a plastic housing having a metal cover plate and a metal back plate;
• the plastic housing having a base wall that has a hole extending through it and an integral sleeve attached to the base wall in alignment with the hole,
• a ratchet pivotably mounted on the integral sleeve in the plastic housing behind the cover plate for movement between a latched position and an unlatched position;
• a metal ratchet stud disposed in the hole and the sleeve for holding the plastic housing and the metal cover plate together and pivotally mounting the sleeve when it breaks away in service,
• a pawl pivotally mounted in the plastic housing behind the metal cover plate by a metal pawl stud that holds the plastic housing and the metal cover plate together, the pawl being pivotally moveable between an engaged position holding the ratchet in its latched position and an unlatching position releasing the ratchet from its latched position,
• a non-metallic pawl releasing lever that is pivotally mounted on the pawl stud behind the plastic housing for pivotal movement between a latched position and an unlatching position, the non-metallic pawl releasing lever having a tab that extends through a hole in the plastic housing and engages the pawl to pivot the pawl to its unlatching position when it is pivoted to its unlatching position,
• an unlatching lever that is pivotally mounted on the pawl stud behind the plastic housing for pivotal movement between a latched position and an unlatching position,
• a locking lever pivotally mounted behind the plastic housing for movement between a locked position and an unlocked position, and
• a non-metallic intermittent lever interconnecting the unlatching lever and the locking lever,
• the intermittent lever having a portion that engages and pivots the pawl releasing lever to its unlatching position when its unlatching lever is pivoted to its unlatching position and the locking lever is in the unlocked position, and that bypasses the pawl releasing lever when the locking lever is in its locked position so that the motion of the unlatching lever is not transferred to the pawl releasing lever when the locking lever is in its locked position.