Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02536180 2006-02-13
LOCKING ASSEMBLY FOR REAR DOOR
Field of the Invention
[0001] This invention relates to a locking assembly for a vehicle door. More
specifically, the invention relates to an assembly that disables the door
latches on a rear-
facing door on a vehicle with a pair of side doors that open in opposed
directions.
Description of Related Art
[0002] Many pick-up trucks include a passenger cab having a rear seat
positioned
behind a front row of seats to accommodate additional passengers. These pick-
up trucks
typically include a third or fourth rear door located directly behind a front
door to aid
passengers when entering and exiting the rear seats. The rear door also
provides
convenient access to the space behind the front row of seats during loading
and unloading
of items. In certain pick-up trucks, the front and rear doors swing open in
opposite
directions from one another, an arrangement that is historically referred to
as a "clamshell
design."
[0003] For safety reasons, the rear-facing door must not open when the front-
facing door is closed, particularly if the vehicle is in motion. Thus, the
rear door latches
need to be disabled when the front door is closed. Preferably, the rear door
handle should
still be permitted to pivot freely while the door remains shut. Additionally,
the rear-door
locking assembly must be designed to tolerate "over-slamming" and ensure a
secure latch
when the front door is closed with exceptional force.
[0004] It is desired to provide an assembly that prevents the rear door from
opening when the front door is closed or slammed shut. In addition, the rear-
door locking
assembly must be able to accommodate build variations caused by mounting each
of the
front and rear doors to the vehicle body. As each door's alignment may vary in
position
relative to the other, the locking assembly must be able to tolerate these
variances.
Summary of the Invention
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[0005] According to one aspect of the invention, an apparatus is provided for
locking a first door of a motor vehicle in place relative to a second door as
the first and
second doors abut against each other when closed. The apparatus includes a
base plate
mounted to the first door. A latch release lever is pivotally mounted to the
base plate for
movement between a neutral position and a release position. In the release
position, the
latch release lever actuates at least one door latch to release the first
door. A plunger is
slidably mounted to the first door and movable between an open position and a
closed
position engaging the latch release lever. Closing the second door while the
first door is
closed moves the plunger from the open position to the closed position to
prevent the
latch release lever from pivoting into the release position.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0006] Advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the
same becomes better understood be reference to the following detailed
description when
considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
[0007] Figure 1 is a rear perspective view of a motor vehicle;
[0008] Figure 2 is a side profile view of a rear door for the motor vehicle
having a
locking assembly in accordance with the invention;
[0009] Figure 3 is a front profile of the rear door shown in Fig. 2;
[0010] Figure 4 is a perspective view of the locking assembly shown in Fig. 2;
[0011] Figure 5 is a side profile view of the locking assembly shown in Fig 2;
[0012] Figure 6 is a top view of the locking assembly;
[0013] Figure 7 is a bottom view of the locking assembly;
[0014] Figure 8 is a perspective view of a handle release lever and latch
release
lever of the locking assembly; and
[0015] Figure 9 is a side cross-sectional view of a plunger assembly for
selectively engaging the latch release lever.
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Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment
[0016] Referring to Figure 1, a motor vehicle 10 includes two front doors 12
(one
shown) and a rear or third door 14 directly rearward thereto for providing
access to a
passenger compartment 16. In the embodiment shown, the motor vehicle 10 is a
pick-up
truck. The front door 12 is mounted along an A-pillar 17 and the rear door 14
is mounted
along a C-pillar 18, thereby obviating the need for a B-pillar between the A-
pillar 17 and
the C-pillar 18. The front 12 and rear 14 doors open in opposite directions to
allow
individuals to comfortably enter and exit a rear portion of the passenger
compartment 16.
A portion of the facing edges on both of the front 12 and rear 14 doors
overlap with each
other when the doors 12, 14 are closed, providing complementary contact areas
19. In
addition, easy loading and unloading of items into and out of the rear portion
of the
passenger compartment 16 is provided when the front 12 and rear 14 doors are
open.
[0017] Referring now to Figures 2 and 3, the rear door 14 is shown in greater
detail. The rear door 14 includes an outer sheet metal 20 which is exposed to
the outside
of the vehicle 10 and an inner sheet metal 21, which is exposed to the inside
of the
vehicle 10. Trim components are typically mounted to the inner sheet metal 21,
but have
been omitted from Figures 2 and 3 for the purpose of clarity. A handle
assembly,
generally indicated at 22, is fixedly secured to the rear door 14 and is
disposed adjacent a
forward vertical edge 24 thereof. The handle assembly 22 is operatively
connected to
upper 26 and lower 28 door latches by links 30. The upper 26 and lower 28 door
latches
are operable to retain a bolt or striker (not shown) extending from the frame
of the vehicle
10. Upon actuation of the handle assembly 22 while the front door 12 is open,
the upper
26 and lower 28 door latches are unlatched to open the rear door 14.
[0018] Referring now to Figures 4 through 7, a rear door locking assembly is
generally shown at 32. The locking assembly 32 includes a base plate 34 having
an
outward side 36 (best see in Figure 7) facing towards the outside of the
vehicle 10 and an
inward side 38 (best seen in Figure 6) facing towards the interior of the
vehicle cabin.
The base plate 34 further includes a pair of mounting flanges 40 to secure the
base plate
34 to the inner sheet metal 21, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, specifically over
the rear
surface of contact area 19. Each mounting flange 40 has at least one fastener
hole 41 to
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secure the base plate 34 to the inner sheet meta121 via bolts, screws or the
like. The base
plate 34 further includes a pair of handle release apertures 42, a lock
release aperture 43
and a locking pin aperture 44 passing from outward side 36 to inward side 38.
The
handle release apertures 42, lock release aperture 43, and locking pin
apertures 44 are
described in greater detail below.
[0019] A handle release lever 46 and a latch release lever 48 are each
pivotally
mounted to the outward side 36 of the base plate 34 around a common first axis
50. A pin
aperture 51 on the handle release lever 46 locates the handle release lever 46
on a pivot
pin (not shown) mounted to the base plate 34 to form the first axis 50. A
clock spring 52,
mounted around first axis 50 between handle release lever 46 and the base
plate 34 biases
handle release lever 46 into a neutral position (as shown in Figure 6.) As can
be best seen
in Figure 8, an inner arm 54 on the clock spring 52 abuts against a depending
tab 56 on
the handle release lever 46. The handle release lever 46 includes a pair of
oppositely
facing tabs 58. A pair of inner handle arms 59, shown in Figure 3, extending
from the
handle assembly 22 passes through the handle release apertures 42 in the base
plate 34
and abuts against each of the tabs 58. Thus, by actuating the handle assembly
22 out of a
rest position in either direction (i.e., inwards or outwards of the vehicle
10), one of the
pair of inner handle arms 59 engages one of the oppositely facing tabs 58 to
pivot the
handle release lever 46 out of the neutral position into one of two release
positions. The
range of motion of the handle release lever 46 is limited by edges 60 in the
base plate 34
to prevent over travel of the handle release lever 46.
[0020] The latch release lever 48 is also pivotally mounted around the first
axis 51
formed by the pivot pin on the side of clock spring 52 opposite the handle
release lever
46. A pin aperture 64 locates latch release lever 48 on first axis 51. The
clock spring 52
biases the latch release lever 48 into a neutral position, as shown in Figure
4. An outer
arm 66 on the clock spring 52 abuts against a depending tab 68 on the latch
release lever
48, The latch release lever 48 extends between opposing release ends 76, 78.
Each of the
release ends 76, 78 is attached to one of the links 30. Thus, the pivoting of
the latch
release lever 48 into a release position pulls each of the links 30 to unlatch
the upper 26
and lower 28 door latches. A portion of the latch release lever 48 extends
through the
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release aperture 43 so that one of the release ends 78 is located on the
outward side 36 of
base plate 34.
[0021] In operation, actuating the handle assembly 22 pivots the handle
release
lever 46 into either of the release positions. In turn, the clock spring 52
tightens, thereby
actuating the latch release lever 48 to pivot into the release position. Once
the handle
assembly 22 is released, both the latch release lever 48 and the handle
release lever 46 are
returned to their respective neutral positions by the clock spring 52.
[0022] A plunger assembly 80 is mounted to both the inward and outward sides
of
the contact area 19 on the rear door 14. The plunger assembly 80 includes a
canister 82
that is mounted to the rear door 14 through apertures (not shown) in both the
outer 20 and
inner 21 sheet metals 20 proximate the outward side 36 of the base plate 34.
Referring to
Figure 9, the canister 82 includes a cylindrical sidewall 83 defining a
compartment 84.
At one end of the cylindrical sidewall 83 is a first aperture 86 and at the
other end is a
second aperture 88. The second aperture 88 is narrower than the first aperture
86 due to
an inner flange 89 that extends inwards from the edge of cylindrical sidewall
83. An
outer flange 90 extends outwards from the edge of the cylindrical sidewall 83
near the
first aperture 86. The outer flange 90 abuts against the outer sheet metal 20,
as shown in
Figure 2.
[0023] A dual-pin plunger 91 is slidably mounted in the canister 82 for
movement
between an open position and a closed position. A portion of the plunger 91
extends out
though both the first aperture 86 and the second aperture 88. The plunger 91
includes an
inner pin 92 running coaxially through the canister 82 and sized to provide a
slidable fit
through the second aperture 88. Partway along its length, the inner pin 92
includes a
radial flange 94 extending outwards and sized to prevent the inner pin 92 from
exiting the
canister 82 through the second aperture 88. A helical spring 93 (not shown) is
coiled
around the inner pin 92 between the radial flange 94 and the inner flange 89
on the
canister 82 for biasing the inner pin 92 towards the first aperture 86 and
away from the
second aperture 88.
CA 02536180 2006-02-13
[0024] The plunger 91 also includes a cylindrical outer pin 96, having an open
end 98, concentrically and slidably mounted over a distal end 100 of the inner
pin 92. An
outer radial flange 102 extends outwards from the open end 98 of the outer pin
96,
limiting the distance the outer pin 96 can slide over the inner pin 92. A
helical spring 104
(not shown) coiled around the inner pin 92 between the radial flange 94 and
the outer
radial flange 102 biases outer pin 96 away from the radial flange 94. A pin
cap 106,
manufactured out of a resilient material is mounted over a closed end 108 of
outer pin 96.
The pin cap 106 provides the contact point for the front door 12 when both
doors 12, 14
are closed. When the front door 12 is closed, a resilient bezel 109, mounting
to contact
area 19 on the inner sheet metal 21 of the front door 12 contacts the pin cap
106 to
depress the outer pin 96.
[0025] A plunger cap 110 abuts the outer sheet metal 20 and is mounted over
the
outer flange 90 on the canister 82 to provide a weather-tight seal over the
first aperture
86. A pin aperture 112 located in the center of the plunger cap 110
communicates with
the compartment 84 to provide a passageway for the inner pin 90 and the outer
pin 96.
The pin aperture 112 is narrowed by a first shoulder 114 and narrowed again by
a second
shoulder 116. The first shoulder 114 is sized as to prevent the radial flange
94 on the
inner pin 90 from entering the pin aperture 112, thereby retaining the inner
pin 90 within
the compartment 84. The second shoulder 116 is sized as to prevent the outer
pin 96 from
exiting the pin aperture 116. A hex head 118 is provided around the pin
aperture 116 on
an outer surface 117 of the plunger cap 110 to assist in the mounting of the
canister 82 to
the rear door 14. An 0-ring 120 is formed from a resilient material and fitted
into a
groove 122 on the inner surface of the plunger cap 110 against the outer sheet
metal 20 to
prevent moisture from entering through the vehicle door.
[0026] In operation, closing the front door 12 while the rear door 14 is
closed
moves the plunger 91 from its open position to its closed position. More
specifically,
closing the rear door 12 brings the bezel 109 into contact with the pin cap
106. The outer
pin 96 is depressed inwards (i.e., towards the base plate 34), which in turn
moves the
inner pin 90 so that the plunger 91 is in the closed position. The inner pin
90 moves
through a locking aperture 124 on the base plate 34. As a result, the handle
release lever
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46 can pivot freely, but the latch release lever 48 is blocked by the inner
pin 90 from
pivoting into its release position. Thus, the upper 26 and lower 28 door
latches remain
latched.
[0027] When the front door 12 is opened, the plunger 91 returns to its open
position. The helical spring 104 returns the outer pin 96 outwards away from
the radial
flange 102. The helical spring 93 pushes the inner pin 90 towards the first
aperture 86 so
that the inner pin 90 is fully clear of the motion path of the latch release
lever 48. The
latch release lever 48 can now pivot freely in tandem with the handle release
lever 46 to
release the upper 26 and lower 28 door latches.
[0028] The dual pin construction of the plunger 91 accommodates over-slamming
of the front door 12 as helical springs 93, 104 absorb the excess force and
prevent the
misalignment of the plunger 91. In addition, the use of a double-pin
construction for the
plunger 91 provides for a greater build tolerance between the positions of the
front door
12 and the rear door 14 when the doors 12, 14 are closed. The plunger 91
provides a
reliable and inexpensive way to secure the rear door 14 when the front door 12
is open,
without the need for additional locking mechanisms.
[0029] The invention has been described in an illustrative manner. It is to be
understood that the terminology, which has been used, is intended to be in the
nature of
words of description rather than of limitation. Many modifications and
variations of the
invention are possible in light of the above teachings. Therefore, within the
scope of the
appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically
described.
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