Patent ID: 9140037
Filing Date: 2015-09-22
Classification: E05B,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A vehicle door lock device, comprising: a casing; a latch capable of engaging a striker of a vehicle; a ratchet capable of engaging with the latch; a pivot shaft fixed to the casing; a motor mounted to the casing; a worm wheel pivotally mounted to the casing via the pivot shaft and rotated by the motor, the worm wheel comprising a first flat rotary surface perpendicular to the pivot shaft and facing an inside of the vehicle at one side of the worm wheel, and a second flat rotary surface perpendicular to the pivot shaft and facing an outside of the vehicle at an opposite side of the worm wheel; a first engagement projection mounted to the pivot shaft and located on the first flat rotary surface; a second engagement projection mounted to the pivot shaft and located on the second flat rotary surface; a locking lever pivotally mounted to the casing and comprising a first engagement arm and a second engagement arm circumferentially spaced from the first engagement arm to define a gap between the first and the second engagement arms, the first and second engagement arms facing the first flat and second flat rotary surfaces of the worm wheel respectively so that the worm wheel is received in the gap and is located between the first engagement arm and the second engagement arm of the locking lever, the locking lever having an abutted portion and being moveable between a locking position where the latch cannot be disengaged from the striker and an unlocking position where the latch can be disengaged from the striker, wherein when the locking lever is in the locking position, the first engagement projection abuts the first engagement arm, and the worm wheel is turned by the motor in a first direction to allow the locking lever to turn to the unlocking position in which the second engagement projection abuts an end of the second engagement arm to stop the worm wheel at a first stop position, and wherein when the locking lever is in the unlocking position, the second engagement projection abuts the second engagement arm, and the worm wheel is turned by the motor in a second direction opposite the first direction to allow the locking lever to turn to the locking position in which the first engagement projection abuts an end of the first engagement arm to stop the worm wheel at a second stop position; a lift lever operatively connected to the locking lever and having a releasing portion; an opening lever having a released portion with which the lift lever comes in contact to enable the ratchet to disengage from the latch when the locking lever is in the unlocking position; an inside lever having an abutment portion, wherein even when the locking lever is in the locking position, the abutment portion of the inside lever operated by an inside handle comes in contact with the abutted portion of the locking lever to move the locking lever to the unlocking position to move the opening lever via the lift lever to disengage the ratchet from the latch and to disengage the latch from the striker, an outside lever operated by an outside handle and connected to the lift lever; wherein when the locking lever is in the unlocking position the lift lever is in an unlocked state and is moveable by the outside lever to a position where the releasing portion of the lift lever abuts the released portion of the opening lever to disengage the ratchet from the latch and to permit the vehicle door to open when the outside handle is operated, and wherein when the locking lever is in the locking position the lift lever is in a locked state in which the lift lever is in a position that prevents the releasing portion of the lift lever to abut the released portion of the opening lever to prevent the vehicle door from opening even when the outside handle is operated.