Motor-vehicle door latch

Abstract

A latch for a motor-vehicle door comprises a housing, a door bolt engageable in and separable from the housing, a pivotal lock fork in the housing engageable around the bolt, and a release lever operatively coupled to the lock fork. Inside and outside latching elements respectively accessible and actuatable from inside and outside the door can each displace a common latching lever pivotal in the housing between a latched position and an unlatched position. Inside and outside locking elements respectively accessible and actuatable from inside and outside the door can similarly displace a common locking lever pivotal in the housing between a locked and an unlocked position. A coupling element connected to the locking lever is displaceable thereby between coupling and uncoupling positions respectively corresponding to the unlocked and locked positions of the locking lever. The coupling element is connected between the latching lever and the release lever only in the coupling position for displacement of the release lever into the freeing position only on displacement of the common latching lever into the unlatched position. A coupling is operatively engaged between the inside latching element and the inside locking element for shifting the latter into the unlocking position on actuation of the former. Thus actuation of the inside latching element with the latch locked unlocks the latch such that subsequent actuation of the inside latching element unlocks the door.