GB2361675A - Latching arrangement of passenger door - Google Patents

Abstract

A passenger door 10 of a vehicle comprises an inner door release handle 26 connected to a lever 24 and latch arrangement 22 by means of a rod 36. Operation of the door handle causes the latch to be opened or closed by means of the sideways displacement (as viewed in figure 1) of the rod. The rod includes a failure point 38,40 wherein the rod may be disconnected from either the door handle or lever when deformation of the rod (in an upwards direction as shown in figure 1) occurs due to an impact on the exterior side of the door. The failure points may simply be the ends 38,40 of the rod being forced out of apertures 25,34 in the lever and door handle respectively, or may be weakened portions of the rod (148 in figure 2) which are fractured by a shear abutment (150). Disconnection of the rod between the lever and door handle means that the door is not inadvertently opened when a side impact occurs.

Description

2361675 Passenger Door The present invention relates to passenger doors,

and in particular passenger doors of cars.

It is known for cars having passenger doors to be involved in road accidents. It is also known that the- accident itself can cause the door to unlatch and subsequently open during the accident.

It is generally recognised that passengers within a vehicle which is involved in an accident are safer if they remain inside the vehicle. Thus an open door allows the passenger to fall out, increasing the chance of injury. Furthermore the structural rigidity of a passenger cell of a vehicle is enhanced if all doors remain shut.

In particular passenger doors includes an inside door handle connected to a door latch by a rod. Operation of the inside door handle causes the rod to act in tension and operate the latch, whereupon the door can be opened, Typically the rod lies in a fore and aft direction within the door. A side impact on the door can cause the rod to be deformed inwardly relative to the vehicle whereupon the rod is tensioned such that it actuates the latch and allows the door to open whilst the inside door handle remains unoperated.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a door which is less likely to open during an accidence.

Thus according to the present invention there is provided a passenger door including an inside release handle connected to a latch via a rod, operation of the handle causing at least release of the latch, in which the rod includes a failure point for disconnecting the inside release handle from the latch prior to potential opening of the latch by deformation of the rod as a result of an impact on the door, The invention will now be described, by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: - Figure I is a schematic view of a door according to the present invention; and Figure 2 is a partial schematic view of second embodiment of a door according to the present invention.

With reference to figure I there is shown a door 10 having an outer door skin 12 and a door frame 14 attached thereto. Door frame 14 is made as a pressing having an outer flange 16 spaced from an inner flange 18 by a wall 20.

The door further includes a latch 22 having an inside release lever 24 horizontally pivotally mounted thereon. The inside release lever 24 includes a hole 25.

An inside door handle 26 is pivotally mounted about vertical axis A which is fixed relative to the inner flange 18.

Inside door handle 26 includes a manually actutable portion 28 and an arm 30 having a bent tab 3)2, the tab including a hole 3)4.

A rod 36 includes an elongate portion 37 having ends)8 and 40 bent at 90 degrees to the elongate portion. Ends 38 and 40 pass through holes 25 and 34 thus operably connecting the inside door handle 26 with the latch 22.

It should be noted that ends 3.8 and 40 do not include any means such as wasters, split pins, deformed portions or the like for retaining the ends 38 and 40 in appropriate holes 25 and 34. However, portion 18a of inner flange 18 is situated proximal the elongate portion.337. The rod 37 can be assembled by using its resilient nature to spring ends 3) 8 and 40 into appropriate holes. The flange portion 1 8a then acts to retain the rod in the position as shown in figure I during normal operation of the door.

Attached to the outer door skin are ejector means 42 and 44 having ends 42A and 44A situated proximal ends 3 8 and 40 respectively.

- 3 The inside door handle 26 can be pivoted in an anticlockwise direction about axis A to position C, causing rod 36 to move to the right as shown in figure 1 resulting in movement of inside release lever 24 causing unlatching of the door.

Inside door handle 26 can also be pivoted clockwise about axis A to position D, causing the rod to move leftward when viewing figure 1 resulting in movement of inside release lever 24 causing locking of the door.

In the event of an impact on the doo r in the direction of arrow B, the outer door skin 12 is initially deformed and moves in the direction of arrow B causing ends 42A and 44A to contact elongate portion 37 proximal its respective ends resulting in ejection of ends of 38 and 40 from holes 25 and 34 respectively. The effect of this is to disconnect inside release handle 26 from latch 24. Thus any further deformation of rod 36 does not cause unlatching of latch 22.

Thus it can be seen that the rod 36 has been provided with a two failure points in the form of outwardly orientated ends 38 and 40 which disconnect the inside release handle from the latch prior to potential opening of the latch by deformation of the rod as a result of an impact on the door.

It should be noted that in this case both ends Y8 and 40 are ejected from their respective holes though in further embodiments this needs not be the case. For example ejector means 42 could be absent whilst ejector means 44 is present, or ejector means 44 could be absent whilst ejector means 42 is present. Furthermore it is not necessary for there to be specific ejector means. Thus in the absence of ejector means 42 and 44, an impact in the direction of arrow B on figure 1 will ultimately result in door skin 12 contacting rod 36 and ejecting end 40 from hole 34.

With reference to figure 2 there is shown a door 110 having an outer door skin 112 an inner flange portion 1 18A, and a rod 136.

4 In this case rod 136 include a notch 148 to locally weaken the rod.

Secured to outer door skin 112 is a shear abutment 150.

Rod 136 is sufficiently strong to provide for unlatching and locking/unlocking of the door under normal circumstances. However, in the event of an impact in the direction of arrow F, the outer door skin 112 and shear abutment 150 together move in the direction of arrow F and contact rod 138. Continued movement results in rod 136 failing at notch 148 as a result of a shearing action between shear abutment 150 and flange portion I I 8A (which also acts a shear abutment).

It should further be noted that notch 148 is orientated such that the width of the rod 136 is reduced in the direction of an impact i.e. in the direction of arrow F.

In further embodiments shear abutments may not be necessary since by simply notching the rod, this may be sufficient to provide a failure point which disconnects the inside release handle from the latch prior to potential opening of the latch by deforination of the rod as a result of an impact on the door.

Claims (9)

Claims

1. A passenger door including an inside release handle connected to a latch via a rod, operation of the handle causing at least release of the latch, in which the rod includes a failure point for disconnecting the inside release handle from the latch prior to potential opening of the latch by deformation of the rod as a result of an impact on the door.

2. A passenger door as defined in Claim I in which the failure point is an outwardly orientated end portion of the rod engaging a hole of a component operably connected to an inside release handle or a latch, there being retention means for retaining the end portion in the hole during normal operation of the door but allowing ejection of the end portion from the hole in the event of an impact on the door.

3. A passenger door as defined in Claim 2 in which the door includes an outer skin and an ejector operably connected to the outer skin, which ejector contacts the rod proximal an end portion of the rod to eject the end portion from the hole.

4. A passenger door as defined in Claim 1 in which the failure point is a locally weakened portion of the rod.

5. A passenger door as defined in Claim 4 in which the door includes an outer skin spaced from an inner flange, there being a shear abutment located proximal the locally weakened portion and operably connected to one of the outer skin or inner flange such that during an impact on the door the shear abutment acts to shear the rod at the locally weakened portion.

6. A passenger door as defined in Claim 5 in which a further shear abutment is located proximal the locally weakened portion is operably connected to the other of the outer skin and inner flange and during an impact on the door acts to shear the rod at the locally weakened portion.

7. A passenger door as defined in any one of Claims 4 to 6 in which the locally weakened portion is in the form of a notch.

6

8. A passenger door as defined in Claim 7 in which i.,'ie notch is orientated such that the wijth of the rod is narrowed in an impacting direction.

9. A passenger door as defined in any preceding claim in which operation of the inside release handle causes locking of the latch.