Abstract:
The present invention relates to a motor vehicle door lock comprising: a forked latch ( 2 ) intended to interact with a striker; a pawl ( 4 ) which normally locks the latch in the closed position and which can adopt an “escapement” position in which it no longer acts on the said latch ( 2 ); a latch-release mechanism comprising an operating member ( 9 ) which, on the one hand, can adopt either an active position in which it acts, during its actuating movement, on the pawl ( 4 ) to place it in the “escapement” position, or an inhibited position in which, during its actuating movement, it has no effect on the pawl ( 4 ) and, on the other hand, may experience an actuating movement in response to actuation of the door handle by the user; and an electric device which responds at least to an unlock signal by moving the operating member ( 9 ) from its inhibited position until it reaches its active position, characterized in that the lock further comprises a camming mechanism ( 15 ) which, when the unlock signal is transmitted more or less at the end of the actuating travel of the operating member ( 9,109 ), brings the pawl ( 4 ) into its “escapement” position.

Description:
The present invention relates to motor vehicle door locks and more particularly to electric locks. 
     Such locks comprise, as is known, a forked latch intended to interact with a striker, a pawl which normally locks the latch in the closed position, a latch-release mechanism comprising an operating member which experiences an actuating movement in response to actuation of the door handle by the user. The operating member can adopt an active position in which it acts, during its actuating movement, on the pawl in order to place it in the escapement position, and an inhibited position in which, during its actuating movement, it has no effect on the pawl. The lock further comprises an electric device which responds at least to an unlock signal by moving the operating member until it reaches its active position. 
     Vehicle door lock systems in which the unlock signal is generated by actuation of a lock cylinder are known. In other known systems, this unlock signal is provided by recognition electronics in response to an infrared remote-control or radioelectric remote-control signal produced by the user using an appropriate remote control. 
     These known systems are not entirely satisfactory because they require the use either of a key or of a remote control, these objects taking up one of the user&#39;s hands. 
     This is why so-called “hands-free access” systems which do not require the use of a key or of a remote control in order to unlock the lock have been proposed. These systems are equipped with recognition electronics fitted with a radio transmitter and designed to be able to dialogue with a radioelectric device incorporated into a wristwatch, a credit card, a badge or the like worn or carried by the user. The recognition electronics do not produce their unlock signal until the correct owner has been identified. 
     In such systems, the transmission of the unlock signal that operates the electric device, on the one hand, and the actuation of the release mechanism, on the other hand, take place simultaneously. 
     However, the difference between the relatively long response time of the electric device and the very short response time of the release mechanism is such that the operating member has completed its actuating movement even though it is not yet in the active position, which means that the user&#39;s first action on the door handle does not cause the door to open and that the said user has to operate the door handle again in order to open it. 
     This need to operate the door handle twice is a drawback that the present invention sets out to eliminate. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The subject of the present invention is therefore a motor vehicle door lock comprising: a forked latch intended to interact with a striker; a pawl which normally locks the latch in the closed position and which can adopt an “escapement” position in which it no longer acts on the said latch; a latch-release mechanism comprising an operating member which, on the one hand, can adopt either an active position in which it acts, during its actuating movement, on the pawl to place it in the “escapement” position, or an inhibited position in which, during its actuating movement, it has no effect on the pawl and, on the other hand, may experience an actuating movement in response to actuation of the door handle by the user; and an electric device which responds at least to an unlock signal by moving the operating member from its inhibited position until it reaches its active position, characterized in that the lock further comprises an opening catch-up means which, when the unlock signal is transmitted more or less at the end of the actuating travel of the operating member, brings the pawl into its “escapement” position. 
     In a first alternative form, in which the operating member is secured to a lever for opening the lock from the outside, the actuating movement of the operating member in response to actuation of the door handle by the user occurs both when the said operating member is in its active position and when it is in its inhibited position. In a second alternative form, in which the operating member is secured to a lever for locking/unlocking the lock, the actuating movement of the operating member in response to actuation of the door handle by the user occurs only when the operating member ( 109 ) is in its active position. 
     In the first alternative form, advantageously, in a way known per se, the pawl has a peg and the operating member is equipped with a thrust surface and with a recess which are designed such that, when the operating member is in the active position, the thrust surface comes up against and pushes along the said peg during the actuating movement of the operating member until the said pawl has been placed in the “escapement” position, and such that, when the operating member is in the inhibited position, the peg of the pawl, throughout the actuating movement of the said operating member, remains engaged in the said recess so that the operating member has no effect on the pawl. 
     In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the opening catch-up means is produced as follows: part of the wall delimiting the recess of the operating member, and the adjacent part of the peripheral surface of the peg of the pawl are shaped and positioned in such a way that they respectively form a cam and a cam follower which interact with one another when the operating member is more or less in the end of actuating movement position, the movement of the said operating member by the electric device until it reaches its active position driving, thanks to the cam action of the part of the wall, the peg of the pawl until the said pawl has been placed in the “escapement” position. Advantageously, the thrust surface is connected directly to that part of the wall that forms the cam. 
     In the second alternative form, advantageously, in a way known per se, the operating member has a peg and the latch-release mechanism comprises an actuating lever which is equipped with a thrust surface for performing the movement of actuating the operating member in response to actuation of the door handle by the user, the said thrust surface being designed such that, when the operating member is in the active position, the thrust surface comes up against and pushes along the peg, during the actuating movement, in contact with the pawl in order to move it into the escapement position, and such that, when the operating member is in the inhibited position, the thrust surface no longer comes into contact with the peg, so that the operating member has no effect on the pawl. 
     According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the opening catch-up means is produced as follows: the thrust surface of the lever and the adjacent part of the peripheral surface of the peg of the operating member are shaped and positioned in such a way that they respectively form a cam and a cam follower that interact with one another when the actuating lever is more or less in the end of actuating movement position, the movement of the said operating member by the electric device until it reaches its active position driving, thanks to the cam action of the thrust surface, the peg of the operating member until the said pawl has been placed in the “escapement” position. 
     Advantageously, the peg has a part that projects on each side of the mean plane of the operating member, it being possible for one of the two projecting portions to interact with the thrust surface of the lever, and it being possible for the other projecting portion to interact with a contact surface of the pawl in order to bring it into the “escapement” position. 
     Thus, thanks to the invention, the door can be opened by operating the door handle just once, and this can be achieved despite the difference there is between the response time of the release mechanism, which is very fast, and that of the electric unlocking device, which is slower. 
     It is advantageous to envisage that the unlock signal is transmitted by recognition electronics which are electrically powered only when the user exerts action on the door handle, the said electronics then identifying an authorized user by a radioelectric transmission exchanged in accordance with an appropriate protocol with an electronic element worn or carried by the user; this avoids needless consumption of electrical power. This can be obtained using a microswitch (or any other operating system) that is normally open, the closure of which is brought about by the opening action on the door handle, this operating system completing the recognition electronics power-supply circuit. 
     Other features and advantages of the invention will become clear from reading the description, given hereinbelow by way of non-limiting indication, of two preferred embodiments, the description being given with reference to the appended drawings. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
     FIG. 1 depicts a partial elevation of a lock according to one embodiment of the invention, the operating member being in the active position, the actuating lever connected to the door handle being in a position of rest; 
     FIG. 2 depicts a view similar to FIG. 1, showing the operating member in the inhibited position and the actuating lever at rest; 
     FIG. 3 depicts a view similar to FIG. 1, showing the operating member in the inhibited position and the actuating lever in the actuated position; 
     FIG. 4 depicts a view similar to FIG. 1, showing the operating member in the active position and the actuating lever in the actuated position; 
     FIGS. 5 to  8  correspond to FIGS. 1 to  4  respectively, but depict another embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 9A is a diagrammatic part view of a lock of the prior art, showing the movement of the operating member between the inhibited and active positions, with respect to the actuating lever at rest; 
     FIG. 9B shows the movement of the actuating lever of FIG. 9A when the operating member is in the active position; FIG. 9C shows the movement of the operating member from its inhibited position towards its active position when the actuating lever of FIG. 9A has already been moved into the actuated position; 
     FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9C, but depicts the lock according to the embodiment of FIGS. 5 to  8 ; and 
     FIG. 11 is a side elevation of the operating member of the embodiment of FIGS. 5 to  8 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     According to the first embodiment, the lock depicted in FIGS. 1 to  4  comprises a housing  1 , a forked latch  2  articulated to the housing  1  at  3 , and a pawl  4  articulated to the housing  1  at  5 . The latch  2  is intended to interact, in the known way, with a striker, not depicted. The pawl  4 , as is known, is associated with elastic means, not depicted, urging it towards a position that locks the latch  2  in the closed position, as depicted in FIGS. 1 to  3 , and it can be placed in an “escapement” position, against the action of the said elastic means, by a latch-release mechanism controlled by a door handle (or hinged lever), not depicted. 
     The latch-release mechanism comprises, as is known, a lever  6  articulated to the housing  1  at  7 , a second lever  8  articulated to the housing  1  on the same spindle  7  as the first lever  6 , and a link  9 , which in FIGS. 1 to  4  is approximately vertical, articulated by its lower end  10  to an arm  8   a  of the second lever  8 . The link  9  constitutes the member for operating the pawl  4 . 
     The lever  6  is mechanically connected by an articulation spindle  6   a  to the door handle and is associated with elastic means urging it towards its position of rest in which it has been depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2. It comprises a projection  6   b  forming a stop for the arm  8   b , the opposite to the arm  8   a , of the second lever  8 . The latter lever is equipped with elastic means, not depicted, urging it in the direction that presses the arm  8   b  against the projection  6   b.    
     At its opposite end to the articulation  10 , the link  9  is articulated at  11  to a second link  12 , depicted diagrammatically in a dashed line in the drawing, that forms part of an electric locking/unlocking device of a known type. The link  12  is connected at  13  to a moving part, not depicted, which can adopt two fixed positions with respect to the housing  1 . One of these positions, and the corresponding position of the connection  13  depicted in FIGS. 1 and 4, are so-called unlocked positions and correspond to a so-called active angular position of the link  9 ; the other of these positions, and the corresponding position of the connection  13  depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3, are so-called locked positions and they correspond to a so-called inhibited angular position of the link  9 . The moving part carrying the connection  13  is moved by an electric actuator,  149  shown only in FIGS. 1,  2 , designed to respond to a lock signal and to an unlock signal by placing the said part, and therefore the connection  13 , respectively, in their locked position (and consequently the link  9  in its inhibited position) and in their unlocked position (and consequently the link  9  in its active position). 
     The unlock signal may be transmitted by recognition electronics  150 , forming part of a “hands-free access” system known per se requiring the use of neither key nor remote control in order to unlock the vehicle. In this system, the recognition electronics are equipped with a radio transmitter and are designed to be able to dialogue with a radioelectric device incorporated into a wristwatch or a card or a badge worn or carried by the user. The recognition electronics do not produce their unlock signal until the correct owner has been identified. 
     For each fixed position of the connection  13 , the link  9  thus forms, with the link  12  and the lever  8 , an articulated parallelogram. When the lever  6  is pivoted in the direction of arrow F 1 , by actuating the door handle, the link  9  experiences a so-called actuating movement upwards, during which the said link  9  may or may not act on the pawl  4  in order to bring it into the “escapement” position (the position depicted in FIG.  4 ), as will be explained later. 
     The link  9  has an upper end part  9   a  which is not as thick as the rest, this reduction in thickness producing a discontinuous surface  14  comprising a concave curved part  14   a  with the concave side facing upwards (see FIG. 1) and a flat part  14   b  connected directly to the said curved part  14   a  and terminating the said discontinuous surface  14  on the opposite side to the articulation  11 . The concave part  14   a  of the discontinuous surface  14  delimits a recess  50  on the side of the face of the link  9  that faces towards the pawl  4 . 
     On its face that faces towards the link  9 , the pawl  4  has a peg  15  projecting towards the said link  9 . 
     The elements  6  to  14  constituting the latchrelease mechanism and the peg  15  of the pawl  4  are together arranged in such a way that, when the link  9  is in the active angular position (FIGS.  1  and  4 ), it can, during its actuating movement, act on the pawl  4 , by the action of the flat surface  14   b  on the peg  15 , in order to bring the pawl  4  into the escapement position, and that when it is in the inhibited angular position (FIGS.  2  and  3 ), it has no effect on the pawl  4  during its actuating movement, the peg  15  then remaining, throughout the actuating movement of the link  9 , engaged in the recess delimited towards the bottom by the concave part  14   a  of the discontinuous surface  14 . 
     The fraction  51 , situated to the left in the drawing, of the concave curved part  14   a  of the discontinuous surface  14  is inclined in the direction downwards and to the right in FIGS. 1 to  4 , so as to form with respect to the axis  9   b  of the actuating movement (see FIG. 2) of the link  9  an angle that is preferably greater than 45 degrees. Thus, the part  51  forms a cam interacting with the peg  15  when (1) the link  9  is approximately at the end of its actuating movement and (2) it experiences, driven by the electric device, a movement of pivoting about the axis  10  in the direction of arrow F 2  (FIG.  3 ). The cam-forming fraction  51  is dimensioned in such a way that, as it interacts with the peg  15 , the latter is moved upwards until the pawl  4  reaches its “escapement” position. That part of the peripheral surface of the peg  15  that is adjacent to the cam  51  is rounded in order to facilitate the action of the cam  51  on the peg  15  that constitutes the cam follower. 
     The way in which the lock depicted in FIGS. 1 to  4  works is as follows. 
     FIG. 1 depicts the lock in a starting position in which the link  9  is in the active position (lock unlocked) and the lever  6  is in the position of rest. If, under these conditions, action is exerted on the door handle, the lever  6  and therefore the lever  8  are tilted in the direction of arrow F 1 , causing an upwards movement of the articulation spindle  10  and therefore of the link  9  which, finding itself in the active position, will, via its thrust surface  14   b , act as it moves on the peg  15  in order to pivot the pawl  4  until it reaches its “escapement” position (see FIG.  4 ). 
     FIG. 2 depicts the lock in a starting position in which the link  9  is in the inhibited position (lock locked) and the lever  6  is in the position of rest. If, under these conditions, action is exerted on the door handle and, at the same time, the electric device is activated by emitting an unlock signal produced, for example, by bringing a badge closer to the lock, this will initially result in the situation depicted in FIG.  3 : the action on the door handle will, as in the previous instance, cause an upwards movement of the link  9 , but the tilting of the link  9  from its inhibited starting position into its active position will not take place until later because the electric device is slower than the release mechanism. Thus, until the end of the actuating movement of the link  9 , the latter will remain in its inhibited position, which means that the peg  15  will remain engaged in the recess  50  delimited by the concave part  14   a  of the discontinuous surface  14 . 
     When the electric device begins to act, by pulling to the right in the drawing the articulation spindle  11  connecting the link  9  to the second link  12 , thanks to the inclined-cam shape of the part  51  of the discontinuous surface  14  and to the rounded shape of the adjacent surface of the peg  15 , the peg  15  will not jam in the recess  50  of the link  9  but, to the contrary, the cam effect will cause the lifting of the peg  15  and consequently the pivoting of the pawl  4  in the clockwise direction until the said pawl has been brought into its “escapement” position, as depicted in FIG. 4, in which it no longer acts on the forked latch  2 , thus allowing the door to be opened. 
     According to the second embodiment, the elements of the lock depicted in FIGS. 5 to  8  which are identical or similar to those of the first embodiment carry, as a general rule, the same reference numerals, increased by  100 . The lock of the second embodiment comprises, in the way known per se, a housing  101 , a forked latch  102  articulated to the housing  101  at  103 , and a pawl  104  articulated to the housing  101  at  105 . The latch  102  is intended to interact, in the known way, with a striker, not depicted. The pawl  104 , in the known way, is associated with elastic means, not depicted, urging it into a position that locks the latch  102  in the closed position, as depicted in FIGS. 5 to  7 , and it can be brought into the “escapement” position against the action of the said elastic means, by a latch-release mechanism operated by a door handle “or hinged lever”, not depicted. 
     The latch-release mechanism comprises, as is known, an actuating lever  108  articulated to the housing  101  on a spindle  107 , and a link  109  which is approximately vertical in FIGS. 5 to  8 , articulated by its upper end  111  to an operating lever  112  that forms part of an electric locking/unlocking device of a known type. 
     The actuating lever  108  is mechanically connected by an articulation spindle  106  to the door handle, generally via an opening linkage or cable, and the actuating lever  108  is associated with elastic means (not depicted) urging it into its position of rest in which it has been depicted in FIGS. 5 and 6. One arm  108   a  of the actuating lever  108  is intended to press against a projection  101   a  of the housing  101 , under the action of the aforementioned elastic means which urge the arm  108   a  against the projection  101   a . There is another projection  101   b  provided on the housing  101  to limit the tilting of the arm  108   a  during its actuating travel. The entry to the throat of the lock has been indicated in  101   c  in FIG.  8 . 
     The operating lever  112  is articulated at  113  to the housing  101  and comprises a projecting portion  112   a  which is intended to be actuated by a moving part, not depicted, for example a fork-shaped part, of the electric locking/unlocking device, it being possible for the said operating lever  112  to adopt two fixed positions with respect to the housing  101 . A so-called unlocked position of the operating lever  112  is illustrated in FIGS. 5 to  8  and corresponds to a so-called active position of the link  109  in the vertical direction (the link  109  constitutes the member for operating the pawl  104 ); the other, so-called locked, position of the operating lever  112  is depicted in FIGS. 6 and 7 and corresponds to a so-called inhibited position of the link  109  in the vertical direction. The moving part acting on the portion  112   a  of the operating lever  112  is moved by an electric actuator, not depicted, designed to respond to a lock signal and an unlock signal by placing the said part and therefore the portion  112   a , respectively, in their locked position (and consequently the link  109  in the inhibited position), and in their unlocked position (and consequently the link  109  in the active position). 
     A guide piece  110  is articulated to the same spindle  105  as the pawl  104  and is in the shape of a fork, between the arms of which is housed a portion  114   a  of a peg  114  which is provided on the lower end of the link  109 . The peg  114  projects at right angles from each side of the mid plane of the link  109 , the projecting portion  114   a  of the peg  114  being situated on that face of the link  109  which faces towards the pawl  104 , and the opposite projecting portion  114   b  of the peg  114  being situated on that face of the link  109  which faces towards the actuating lever  108 . The fork housing of the guide piece  110  serves to guide the portion  114   a  of the peg  114  in an approximately vertical direction when the link  109  is moved between its active and inhibited positions by the operating lever  112 . The projecting portion  114   a  of the peg  114  is positioned and shaped in such a way that it can come into contact with a contact surface  104   a  of the pawl  104  in order to move it into its escapement position (the position depicted in FIG.  8 ), as will be explained later. 
     The guide piece  110  has, as is known, a certain relative mobility in terms of rotation with respect to the pawl  104 , so that the movement of opening from the inside is decoupled from the movement of opening from the outside, in order to avoid the exterior handle moving when the interior handle is actuated. 
     The arm  108   b , which is the opposite to the arm  108   a , of the actuating lever  108 , has at its free end an approximately flat thrust surface  115  facing towards part of the peripheral surface of the projecting portion  114   b  of the peg  114 . Although in FIG. 11 the portions  114   a  and  114   b  are aligned, it is possible to envisage a peg  114  having portions  114   a  and  114   b  which are offset with respect to one another. 
     The elements  106  to  115  that constitute the latch-release mechanism, and the contact surface  104   a  of the pawl  104  are arranged together in such a way that when the link  109  is in the active position (FIGS. 5 and 8) it can, during its actuating movement, act on the pawl  104 , by the action of the projecting portion  114   a  of the peg  114  on the contact surface  104   a  of the pawl  104 , in order to bring the pawl  104  into the escapement position, and so that when it is in the inhibited position (FIGS.  6  and  7 ), during its actuating movement it has no effect on the pawl  104 , the peg  114  then remaining, throughout the actuating movement by the actuating lever  108 , retracted upwards with respect to the thrust surface  115  of the actuating lever  108 . 
     The thrust surface  115  of the arm  108   b  of the actuating lever  108 , is inclined downwards and to the left in FIGS. 5 to  8 , so as to form, with respect to the axis A of the locking/unlocking movement of the link  109 , an angle θ that is preferably between 30° and 60°, when the lever  108  is at the end of its actuating movement travel in the direction of arrow F 1  (see FIG.  10 ). Thus, the thrust surface  115  forms a cam interacting with the projecting portion  114   b  of the peg  114  when the actuating lever  108  is approximately at the end of the actuating movement in the direction of arrow F 1  and the link  109  experiences, driven by the electric device, an approximately vertical translational movement in the direction of arrow F 2 . The thrust surface  115  is dimensioned in such a way that as it interacts with the portion  114   b  of the peg  114 , the latter is moved downwards and to the left in FIG. 10, until the portion  114   a  of the peg  114  comes into contact with the contact surface  104   a  of the pawl  104  in order to bring it into its escapement position. That part of the peripheral surface of the peg  114  that is adjacent to the cam  115  is rounded to facilitate the action of the cam  115  on the portion  114   b  of the peg  114  that constitutes the cam follower. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 9A to  9 C, the operation of a lock in accordance with the prior art will be described. FIG. 9A depicts the movement of the peg  114  of the operating member between its inhibited position and its active position, when the actuating lever  108  is at rest. In this position, the peg  114  reaches its position illustrated in broken line which is facing a thrust surface  115 ′ of the arm  108   b  of the actuating lever  108 . Then, under the action of the pivoting of the actuating lever  108 , in the direction of arrow F 1 , the peg  114   b  of the operating member experiences a rotation about its fixed spindle ill, under the action of the thrusting of the thrust surface  115 ′ against the portion  114   b  of the peg  114 , to bring it into contact with the pawl  104  and push it into the escapement position. It can be seen from FIG. 9B that the thrust surface  115 ′ is approximately parallel to the direction of travel F 2  of the operating member between its inhibited and active positions. In FIG. 9C, the actuating lever  108  is already tilted to the end of its actuating travel, while the peg  114   b  of the operating member is still in its inhibited position. As the peg  114   b  moves towards its active position, the peg  114   b  comes up against a wall portion  115 ′ a  of the actuating lever  108 , the said wall portion  115 ′ a  being approximately at right angles to the direction F 2 , which means that the peg  114   b  is blocked by the arm  108   b  of the actuating lever  108  and cannot, as illustrated in broken line, reach the position that allows the pawl to be placed in the escapement position, because the portion  114   b  of the peg  114  cannot come into contact with the thrust surface  115 ′ of the actuating lever  108 . 
     The way in which the lock depicted in FIGS. 5 to  8  works is as follows. 
     FIG. 5 depicts the lock in a starting position in which the link  109  is in the active position (lock unlocked) and the actuating lever  108  is in the position of rest. If, under these conditions, action is exerted on the door handle, the lever  108  is tilted in the direction of arrow F 1  (see FIG.  8 ), the thrust surface  115  coming into contact with the portion  114   b  of the peg  114  of the link  109  and causing it to pivot about the fixed point  111 , until the portion  114   a  of the peg  114  comes into contact with the contact surface  104   a  of the pawl  104  to make it pivot into its escapement position. 
     FIG. 6 depicts the lock in a starting position in which the link  109  is in the inhibited position (lock locked) and the lever  108  is in the position of rest. If, under these conditions, action is exerted on the door handle and, at the same time, the electric device is activated by emitting an unlock signal produced, for example, by bringing a badge closer to the lock, this will first of all result in the situation depicted in FIG.  7 : the action on the door handle will, like in the previous instance, cause the thrust surface  115  to tilt in the direction of arrow F 1 , but the movement of the link  109  from its inhibited starting position into its active position will not occur until later because the electric device is slower than the release mechanism. Thus, until the end of the actuating movement by the actuating lever  108 , the link  109  will remain in the inhibited position, which means that the peg  114  will remain retracted with respect to the thrust surface  115 . 
     When the electric device begins to act, tilting downwards the articulation spindle  111  connecting the link  109  to the operating lever  112 , thanks to the inclined-cam shape of the thrust surface  115  of the actuating lever  108  and to the rounded shape of the adjacent surface of the projecting portion  114   b  of the peg  114 , the projecting portion  114   b  of the peg  114  will not be blocked against the arm  108   b  of the actuating lever  108  but, to the contrary, the cam effect will cause the portion  114   b  of the peg  114  to slide over the inclined thrust surface  115  and consequently cause the link  109  to pivot, in the clockwise direction, about the fixed spindle  111 , until the portion  114   a  of the peg  114  is brought up against the contact surface  104   a  of the pawl  104  which will pivot into its escapement position as depicted in FIG. 8, in which position the pawl  104  no longer acts on the forked latch  102 , thus allowing the door to be opened. 
     Thus, thanks to the invention, the door handle need be actuated just once in order to open this door, and this is true despite the difference in response times that there is between the response time of the release mechanism, which is very fast, and that of the electric locking/unlocking device, which is slower. 
     It is advantageous to envisage that the recognition electronics are not electrically powered until the user exerts an action on the handle in order to open the door, this being in order to avoid needless consumption of electrical power. This can be obtained using a micro-switch (or any other operating system), not depicted, which is normally open, and the closure of which is brought about by action on the door handle, this micro-switch completing a recognition-electronics power-supply circuit, not depicted.