Vehicle door lock device

A vehicle door lock device comprising:

• a latch engageable with a striker fixed to a vehicle body;
• a ratchet for maintaining engagement of the latch with the striker in engagement with the latch;
• a lock body having a concave portion, which encloses the latch and the ratchet, in a front part thereof and also having first and second spaces in a rear part thereof;
• a ratchet lever for rotating the ratchet;
• an opening lever which is connected to an outer opening handle of a door and is provided in such a manner to have a same axis of rotation as of the ratchet lever and to overlap the ratchet lever, said opening lever having an elongated hole;
• said opening lever and said ratchet lever being provided in one of the first and second spaces;
• a lock lever which is connected to a door key cylinder and a lock button and is adapted to change a position thereof between a locked position and an unlocked position, said lock lever being provided in the other of the first and second spaces;
• an interlocking link having an end rotatably connected to the lock lever and also having another end in which a pin engaging with the elongated hole is provided, said pin being able to engage with the ratchet lever and causing the ratchet through the ratchet lever to turn by the operation of the opening lever when the lock lever is in the unlocked position, said pin being disengaged from the ratchet lever and becoming unable to engage with the ratchet lever when the lock lever is in the locked position;
• said ratchet lever having a lock releasing arm adapted to engage with the interlocking link when the ratchet lever turns, and to change the position of the lock lever from the locked position to the unlocked position;
• and being characterized in that the ratchet lever consists of any one of:
• (A) a first ratchet lever which is connected to the ratchet in such a manner to be integral with the ratchet and is formed in such a manner to be integral with an inner arm engaging with an inner opening handle of the door;
• (B) a second ratchet lever which is connected to the ratchet in such a manner to be integral with the ratchet and does not have the inner arm;
• and
• (C) a third ratchet lever which is connected to the ratchet in a one-way connection manner and has the inner arm;
• in that the opening lever consists of any one of:
• (a) a first opening lever which does not have the inner arm;
• and
• (b) a second opening lever formed in such a manner to be integral with the inner arm,
• whereby the lock device has a configuration which is selected from:
• (1) a first variation having a combination of a first ratchet lever and a first opening lever, by which a one-motion opening mechanism and a self-canceling mechanism can be realized;
• (2) a second variation having a combination of a third ratchet lever and a first opening lever, by which a one-motion opening mechanism can be realized but a self-canceling mechanism is removed from the lock device;
• and
• (3) a third variation having a combination of a second ratchet lever and a second opening lever, by which a self-canceling mechanism can be realized but a one-motion opening mechanism is removed from the lock device.