Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Alfonsas Arlauskas

Richard D Loose

Paul F Pelchat

Algis G Augunas

A vehicle body door lock includes a fork type bolt and a sliding detent member which moves between detent and undetented positions with respect to the legs of the bolt. The detent is slidably mounted in a plastic housing located within a box type frame of the lock. A compression spring biases the detent to detented position, with the detent being located by engagement of a shoulder of a plastic cap thereon with a stop mounted on the housing. A release mechanism for the detent includes an intermittent member movable between locked and unlocked positions with respect to another shoulder of the plastic cap of the detent through inside and outside release members.

Vehicle body door lock

A pull out type door handle assembly includes a mounting member attached to a vehicle door and a generally U-shaped handle pivoted thereto at a first leg with a second leg extending through an aperture in the mounting member and having the shoulder thereon engaged with the peripheral flange of the aperture to limit the inward rotation of the handle and define the inoperative position thereof. The second leg includes a lateral extension spaced from the inner side of the mounting member and engageable with one arm of a bell crank lever pivoted to the inside of the mounting member. The other arm of the lever is connected to a latch release lever. A spring rotatably biases the one arm of the bell crank lever into engagement with the lateral extension to maintain the handle in inoperative position. As the handle is rotated outwardly of the mounting member, the one bell crank lever arm engages the inner side of the mounting member to define the operative position of the handle and release the vehicle latch. The spring returns the bell crank lever and handle to inoperative position upon release of the handle.

Pull out door handle assembly

A door hinge and hold open which includes generally U-shaped male and female hinge members having the legs thereof pivotally secured to each other. The hold open lever is pivoted to one of the legs of the male hinge member and biased into engagement with a detent roller on a respective leg of the female hinge member by a compression spring seating between the base of the male hinge member and a spring retainer generally traversing the legs of the male hinge member and having one side thereof engaging the hold open lever and the other side thereof engaging the other leg of the male hinge member.

Door hinge and hold open

A slide bolt latch assembly includes a cam lever pivotally movable between a retracted position within the lower free swinging corner of a vehicle door and an extended position extending out of the door. A pin and slot connect the cam lever to a slide bolt for concurrent movement along a linear path between extended and retracted positions. A spring continually biases the cam lever and slide bolt to their extended positions. Movement of the door toward partially closed position engages the cam lever with the leading edge of a body mounted striker plate to move the cam lever and slide bolt to their retracted positions against the force of the spring. Final closing of the door disengages the cam lever from the leading edge of the striker plate. The spring returns the cam lever and slide bolt to extended position to engage the slide bolt with another edge of the plate and retain the door in closed position. A release lever is accessible from inside the vehicle to move the cam lever and the slide bolt to their retracted positions and allows the door to be opened.

Slide bolt latch assembly

A hinge and hold-open assembly is disclosed having a pair of hinge straps and an integral hold-open spring and pivot pin member. The spring and pin member has a pivot pin portion pivotally connecting the hinge straps and a spring portion which is operatively engaged by a cam on one of the hinge straps so as to be normally relaxed in a closed hinge condition. Then on relative pivotal movement between the hinge straps, the spring portion is radially flexed and then relatively abruptly partially unflexed to yieldingly establish and hold an open hinge condition and with less effort required to establish the hold-open condition than is required to release same.

Hinge and hold-open assembly

An inertia seat back lock includes a frame secured to the seat cushion member and having side walls pivotally supporting the shaft portion of a reel. A coil spring secured to the shaft portion and an abutment of one side wall biases the reel in a winding direction. A strap secured to the reel and to the pivoted seat back member normally permits free pivoting movement of the back member relative to the cushion member as the reel unwinds and winds. An inertia responsive member pivoted to the frame includes a pawl portion traversing toothed end plates of the reel and a pair of extensions overlying the shaft portion and located between the end plates and the frame side walls. The center of gravity of the inertia member normally locates the pawl portion out of the path of the end plates. When a predetermined deceleration level is exceeded, the inertia member pivots relative to the frame and the pawl portion engages one tooth of each of the end plates to block forward tilting movement of the back member relative to the cushion member. The flexible strap takes up a portion of the shock loads. The spring is initially preloaded and hooked to the reel. When the reel is assembled to the frame and the strap is initially unwound, the outer end of the spring is transferred to the abutment of the frame side wall.

Inertia seat back lock

An inertia seat back lock includes first and second pivotally interconnected members respectively secured to a seat back and seat cushion to pivot the back to the cushion for forward tilting movement. The first member includes a pair of detent shoulders spaced circumferentially of each other relative to the seat back pivot to define respective first and second locked positions of the seat back. The first member has a first limit shoulder engageable with a stop on the second member to define the forward limit position of normal tilting movement of the seat back. An inertia member pivoted to the second member engages a stop on the second member under gravity bias to positively locate a latch shoulder thereof in a normal inoperative position out of the path of movement of the detent shoulders during normal tilting movement of the seat back. The center of gravity of the inertia member is below the pivot thereof. Inertia forces applied to the seat cushion are transferred to the inertia member to swing the inertia member to an operative position in the path of movement of the detent shoulders for engagement by one shoulder to lock the seat back in a respective locked position against tilting movement. The line of force between the engaged shoulders is normal to a line between the engaged shoulders and seat back pivot to bias the inertia member further toward the operative position and maintain the shoulders in engagement. A second limit shoulder of the first member engages the inertia member pivot to locate the seat back in upright position. A manually operable push button may be provided to swing the inertia member from the operative position to the inoperative position prior to full cessation of the inertia forces.

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Troy, MI, United States of America

Alfonsas Arlauskas