Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Adac Plastics, Inc.

James Lee Salmon

Christian Michael Norton

James Joseph Loschiavo

Bradley Napier Doman

Quang Vinh Nguyen

Richard Kollar

Michael Boorsma

David Bruce Lehmkuhl

David R Stuart

Timothy William Taylor

A motor vehicle door handle assembly combining the use of a counterweight to preclude inadvertent opening movement of the door in a side impact scenario and the ability to install the handle assembly from outside of the vehicle by passing the handle assembly through an aperture in an outer skin of the door. The handle assembly includes a housing; a handle mounted for opening and closing movement on the housing; an actuator mechanism operative in response to opening movement of the handle to unlatch a latch mechanism of the door and allow opening of the door; and a counterweight. The counterweight is mounted on the housing for movement between an installation position within a profile of the housing, to facilitate installation of the handle assembly in a motor vehicle door by insertion of the handle assembly through an aperture in an outer skin, and an operative position in juxtaposition to the actuator mechanism in which it is operative in response to an impact against the side of the vehicle proximate the door handle assembly to resist movement of actuator mechanism in a door unlatching direction. Following passage of the handle assembly through the aperture in the door with the counterweight in its installation position, the handle member is moved relative to the housing to release the counterweight and allow it to be moved to its operative position under the biasing of the handle assembly return spring which normally acts to yieldably resist opening movement of the handle. The counterweight in its operative position pushes against the actuator mechanism but is free to move away from the actuator mechanism so as not to act to urge the actuator mechanism in a door unlatching direction in response to an impact against the side of the vehicle remote from the door handle assembly.

Handle with side impact counterweight having installation position

An anchorage assembly which includes a generally rectangular housing , an anchor member , and a resilient and deformable material or member which is coupled to member and which engages housing , thereby regulating or controlling the movement of member relative to housing and absorbing vibration and impact loads imparted upon member

Anchorage assembly

An automotive door latching system can include a first latch for locking one vehicle door, a second latch for locking a second vehicle door, and an electric switch controlled by the first switch for supplying current to an electrically-operated latch release means associated with the second latch. The latching system requires that the first latch be in the door release state before the second latch can be moved to the door release state. Consequently the doors are openable only in a predetermined sequence.

Automotive door latching system

Growing community of inventors

Mariemont, OH, United States of America

James Lee Salmon