Patent ID: 6053542
Filing Date: 2000-04-25
Classification: E05B,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
A cinching mechanism for a vehicle latch assembly, said cinching mechanism comprising:a cinching gear rotatably mounted about an axis between standby and latched positions and operatively interacting with the latch assembly and including a notch radially spaced away from said axis;a cinch pawl operably movable between corresponding standby and latched positions corrected to an actuator and biased against said cinching gear for engagement with the notch of the cinching gear and driving the cinching gear to its latched position and for retracting to its standby position for allowing said cinching gear to rotate back to its standby position;a cinch drive lever pivotably mounting said cinch pawl along a first pivot axis and being pivotably mounted in proximity to said axis of said cinching gear, said cinch lever operably connected to an actuator for driving said cinch pawl between its standby and latched positions;a link pivotably connected to said cinch pawl at a predetermined point near one end and extending to and connected near its other end to the latch assembly for pivotably disengaging said cinch pawl from said cinching gear in response to unlatching action of the latch assembly;said link in proximity to said pivot axis of said cinching gear such that a line between its one and other end crosses said axis of said cinching gear during motion of said cinch pawl between its standby and latched positions.