Vehicle door lock assembly

Abstract

A door lock assembly includes a housing-carried set of interactive operating components for mounting on a closure for releasingly engaging a keeper that is carried by structure located adjacent to an opening through which access is controlled by positioning the closure selectively in open and closed positions. The lock assembly is 'slam-capable' in that its operating components include a pair of oppositely pivoted, spring-biased jaws that are movable into latching engagement with the keeper as the closure is closed. The lock housing includes a pair of interfitting, cast metal housing members that cooperate to define a housing assembly that has a keeper-receiving formation along a curved end region thereof. Channel-like central formations are defined on the hollow interior of the housing assembly for mounting operating components that include a pair of opposed jaw members that function to latchingly interengage portions of the keeper when the closure is in its closed position. The central formations define a slide channel that selectively movably mounts one of two embodiments of a stamped slide. In one embodiment, the stamped slide is a one-piece member. In an alternate embodiment, the slide is formed by a pair of snap-together stamped components.