Power-actuated motor-vehicle door latch with antitheft override

Abstract

A motor-vehicle door latch has inside and outside locking elements and an actuator having an electric motor having a threaded output spindle and a drive nut threaded directly on the spindle and displaceable by the motor between unlocked, locked, and antitheft positions. An inside lever assembly includes a first inside lever pivoted on the housing and connected directly to the inside locking element for displacement jointly with the inside locking element between locked and unlocked positions and a second inside lever pivoted on the first inside lever and coupled to the actuator drive nut for pivotal displacement jointly therewith between unlocked, locked, and antitheft positions. A spring braced between the first and second levers urges abutments on them into engagement with each other so that when the abutments are spaced apart the spring is loaded. A coupling mechanism in the housing connected between the first inside lever, door handles, an outside locking element, the actuator nut, and a fork-release pawl couples the release pawl to the handles in the unlocked positions of the locking elements and actuator nut for operation of the release pawl by the handles. This mechanism decouples at least the outside handle from the release pawl in the locked position of either of the locking elements or of the actuator nut and decouples the first lever and both handles from the release pawl in the antitheft position of the actuator nut.