Patent ID: 6024389
Filing Date: 2000-02-15
Classification: E05B,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
A vehicle door latch having a latching mechanism and a stiffness adjustment mechanism comprising:a housing for the latching mechanism and the adjustable stiffness mechanism,the housing including a slot for receiving a striker,the latching mechanism including a fork bolt in the housing that moves between a latching position and an unlatching position, the fork bolt having a throat that is aligned with the slot of the housing for receiving the striker when the fork bolt in the unlatching position and that captures the striker when the fork bolt is in the latching position,the stiffness adjustment mechanism having a bumper in the housing that has an elastomeric portion located at a rearward end of the slot of the housing so as to engage the striker and bias the striker against a surface of the throat of the fork bolt when the striker is captured by the fork bolt, andthe stiffness adjustment mechanism having means for adjusting the stiffness of the elastomeric portion of the bumper that engages and biases the striker against the surface of the throat of the fork bolt when the striker is captured by the fork bolt.