Vehicle door latch device with double action mechanism

A vehicle door latch device comprising:

• an open lever for connection to an outside open handle of a vehicle door and arranged to open the door when the outside open handle is operated;
• a lock lever for connection to an inside lock button of the door through a rod and displaceable between an unlocked position where it makes a door-opening movement of the open lever effective and a locked position where it makes the door-opening movement of the open lever ineffective;
• an over-center spring for elastically keeping the lock lever in one of the unlocked position and the locked position;
• a double action mechanism for connection to an inside open handle of the door, said double action mechanism being arranged to switch the lock lever from the locked position to the unlocked position when the inside open handle is operated while the lock lever is being in the locked position, and further being arranged to actuate the open lever when the inside open handle is operated while the lock lever is being in the unlocked position;
• and
• an antitheft mechanism having an antitheft spring with elasticity weaker than elasticity of the over-center spring, said antitheft mechanism being provided between the rod and the lock lever;
• wherein said antitheft spring is arranged to be compressed without displacing the lock lever from the locked position to the unlocked position when the rod is moved in an unlocking direction by an illegal access while the lock lever is being in the locked position.