Door handle assembly

A motor vehicle door handle assembly for actuating a door latch of a vehicle to allow opening and closing of the vehicle door, the door handle assembly comprising:

• a door handle moveable between a closed position in which the latch maintains the door in a closed position and an open position in which the latch is unlatched to allow opening of the door;
• a blocker member mounted for inertial movement between a neutral position, in which the door handle is free to move to its open position, and a blocking position, in which the door handle is precluded from moving to its open position;
• means operative in response to a side impact against the door to move the blocking member inertially from its neutral position to its blocking position, whereby to block movement of the door handle to its open position and preclude inadvertent opening of the door;
• the blocker member comprising a blocker lever mounted for pivotal movement from its neutral position to its blocking position in response to side impact;
• the door handle assembly further including an actuator lever separate from but operated by the handle and mounted for pivotal movement in response to movement of the handle;
• the blocker lever being pivotally mounted at one end thereof on the actuator lever and carrying a weight at the other, free end thereof, to accentuate the pivotal movement of the blocking lever in response to side impact.