Door lock bracket and method of making same
AssigneeZenith Industrial Corporation
InventorTimothy P. Granger
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A door lock bracket for serving as a striker which secures an automobile door closed in conjunction with a door latching assembly. The door lock bracket is formed from a one-piece stamping which includes a flange portion for mounting the door lock bracket to the door post of the automobile, an apertured portion for receiving the door's latching mechanism, and a base portion interconnecting the flange and apertured portions. The door lock bracket is structurally uncomplicated, so as to facilitate the manufacture of the door lock bracket using a relatively simple multiple-step bending operation. As a result, the door lock bracket is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, yet can be formed to be strong and structurally rigid for extended and repeated use throughout the life of the automobile.
Claims13
A method for forming a door lock bracket, said method comprising the steps of:
- forming a substantially planar member such that said planar member has a flange portion at a first end thereof, an apertured portion at an oppositely disposed end thereof, and a base portion intermediate said flange portion and said apertured portion, said flange portion having means for securing said door lock bracket to a support structure, said apertured portion having an aperture formed therethrough;
- and
- bending said base portion such that said apertured portion and said flange portion are each substantially perpendicular to said base portion.
A method for forming a door lock bracket for an automobile door wherein said door lock bracket is substantially a one-piece stamping, said method comprising the steps of:
- stamping a substantially U-shaped planar member such that a first leg of said planar member is a flange portion, a second leg of said planar member is an apertured portion, and a base portion of said planar member is intermediate and interconnects said flange portion and said apertured portion, said flange portion having means for securing said door lock bracket to a support structure, said apertured portion having an aperture formed therethrough;
- forming a first substantially 90 degree bend in a portion of said base portion such that said apertured portion is substantially perpendicular to said base portion;
- forming a second substantially 90 degree bend in a second portion of said base portion such that said apertured portion is substantially perpendicular to said base portion and said flange portion, and such that said apertured portion partitions said flange portion into substantially symmetrical halves;
- and
- permanently joining said flange portion to said apertured portion;
- whereby said door lock bracket is substantially a unitary member comprising said flange portion, said base portion and said apertured portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.