Integrated control device for a vehicle door and door fitted with this device

The invention relates to a vehicle door equipped with an integrated control device that can be mounted and tested off the assembly line; the door presents a slot for an outer handle, an inner supporting plate and a lateral clearance hole machined close to the clearance slot; the aforesaid integrated device comprises an L-shaped bracket supporting, on one wing, the outer handle and, on the other, a fork of a lock housed inside the bracket and connected to the outer handle and an inner handle fitted with its own supporting bracket and connected to the lock by means of a flexible cable; during use, the L-shaped bracket is fixed to the door with the fork facing the lateral slot and the outer handle housed inside the clearance slot and the bracket of the inner handle fixed to the inner plate of the door.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a preassemblable off line integrated 
control device for a vehicle door, and the door as a whole, fitted with 
this device. 
Current vehicle doors are equipped with control devices comprising separate 
functional elements, which are produced, tested and assembled separately 
on the door, sometimes at different times, and then connected to each 
other on the line, during the final assembly of the vehicle; in 
particular, these functional elements are the actual lock itself, 
comprising the fork and other engaging mechanisms, said lock engaging with 
the dog fixed to the door post, the outer handle, with the key catch and 
the inner handle; these handles are connected during the final stage of 
assembly to the lock by means of tie rods and/or other transmission 
devices, so as to control activation of the actual lock. However, as a 
result of machining and assembly tolerance limits, connection and 
operation problems often arise, making radical adjustments necessary on 
the line during or after assembly in order to ensure that the lock works 
correctly. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The object of the invention is to provide an integrated control device for 
vehicle doors that can be assembled and tested off the assembly line and 
that are, at the same time, easy to assemble (and disassemble, for repair 
purposes) on the door and extremely reliable. 
According to the present invention there is provided an integrated control 
device for a vehicle door, of the type comprising a lock equipped with a 
engaging fork, an outer handle and an inner handle that activate the lock, 
characterized in that said outer handle and said lock are held connected 
to each other by an L-shaped bracket, which supports said outer handle on 
a first wing and said lock on a second wing, projecting laterally from the 
first wing and supporting on its opposite side with respect to the first 
wing, said grounding fork; said inner handle being held fixed and idle by 
a second supporting bracket and being connected to said lock by a flexible 
cable whose ends are securely fixed to said supporting brackets, said 
brackets being equipped with means of fixing to said door.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
In reference to the aforesaid figures, the numeral 1 on the overall view 
indicates a door for a vehicle of any known kind, not illustrated here for 
the sake of simplicity: door 1, of which only the lower part is 
illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, and a detail of which is illustrated on an 
enlarged scale in FIG. 5, comprises a supporting structure 2 enclosing a 
chamber 3 and an inner finishing panel 4 which may be applied to structure 
2 to close chamber 3; this is in fact bounded by an outer metal wall 5 and 
by respective sides or perimetral doorposts 6 and 6a, respectively rear 
and front, forming, together with a frame 7 bounding a window 8 above 
chamber 3, a part of supporting structure 2, against which panel 4 is 
fixed in a known manner not illustrated here for the sake of simplicity. 
Door 1 also includes a single block integrated control device 10, 
illustrated in detail in FIG. 4; this comprises a lock 11 of known type, 
fitted with a engaging fork 12, also of a known type, an outer handle 14 
and an inner handle 15 for activating lock 11 connected, in a known manner 
not illustrated here for the sake of simplicity, to the internal 
mechanisms of lock 11, also known and not illustrated here for the sake of 
simplicity, with the exception of fork 12. In accordance with the 
invention, lock 11 and outer handle 14 are held securely connected to each 
other, in a fixed and prefixed spacial position and together with the 
respective control transmission means, of a known type and not illustrated 
for the sake of simplicity, by an L-shaped bracket 20, that supports outer 
handle 14 on an outer surface 21 of a first wing 22 and lock 11 on a 
second wing 23, projecting laterally from wing 22 and supporting on its 
opposite side to wing 22, engaging fork 12; in particular, bracket 20 
presents a boxed structure and houses, inside wing 23, which has the form 
of a parallelepiped, the inner elements of lock 11, and, inside wing 22, 
the inner mechanisms of handle 14, and a lock catch 25 set across surface 
21 beside handle 14, for example integrated in said surface, and said 
connecting mechanisms, of a known type and not illustrated, between handle 
14 and lock 11; furthermore, wing 22 has on its top a button 26 for 
locking/unlocking handle 14, controlled in parallel by catch 25, or in 
accordance with a possible variant not illustrated for the sake of 
simplicity, with at least one window for access to the known mechanisms 
not illustrated for controlling handle 14, through which to the same 
mechanisms can be connected a button similar to button 26 but that can be 
preassembled on door 1, for example supported in a known manner by 
structure 2 or by finishing panel 4. 
Inner handle 15 is on the contrary held fixed and idle by a second 
supporting bracket 30, independent of bracket 20, and is connected to lock 
11, in other words to said known and not illustrated inner mechanisms of 
said lock, by a flexible cable or tie rod 31, ends 32 and 33 of which are 
securely fixed at oppostie ends of brackets 20 and 30, so that cable 31 
and bracket 30, with relative handle 15, define a flexible appendix of 
bracket 20, but securely fixed to said bracket forming with it and with 
handle 14 and lock 11 held by it a single perfectly functioning functional 
unit constituting device 10 in accordance with the invention. 
Bracket 20 is shaped so that in use wing 23 engages rear perimetral side 6 
of door 1 at the same time as wing 22 engages with outer wall 5 of door 1, 
on the inner side of said door. In particular, bracket 20 comprises an 
oblique intermediate connection section between wings 22 and 23 with a 
form that enables wing 22 to be kept on a plane staggered forward with 
respect to the plane on which wing 23 lies, that is out of line with said 
plane towards wall 5 of door 1. Engaging fork 12 is preferably to be 
housed in a recess 41 open on its side and machined into a lateral surface 
42 of wing 23, which is shaped to define the binder of lock 11. 
Brackets 20 and 30 are fitted with means of fixing to door 1 formed, in the 
example illustrated, by respective clearance holes 45 housing screws 46, 
of a known type, of which only some are illustrated. Similarly, door 1 is 
shaped so as to be adapted to receive device 10 inside chamber 3; in 
particular, outer wall 5 is fitted, at a point immediately below window 9, 
with a clearance slot 50, for example rectangular in shape, housing handle 
14 and machined near to a lateral compartment 51, in turn machined through 
rear side 6 of structure 2 on a level with engaging fork 12 in such a 
position that it remains, with device 10 assembled on door 1, aligned with 
compartment 41; fork 12 is therefore accessible from the outside through 
compartment 51 and can engage in use with said dog fixed to the striking 
post of the door compartment for door 1. 
Wings 22 and 23 of bracket 20 are fixed, by means of respective screws 46, 
respectively to outer wall 5 and rear side 6 of structure 2, while bracket 
30 supporting inner handle 15 is fixed to a supporting plate 53 held 
internally by outer wall 5, inside chamber 3; inner handle 15 is in turn 
held idle and axially removable, by bracket 15 by means of a pin 55 housed 
in use through a hole 56 in finishing panel 4; in particular, wing 22 
enables handle 14 to be blocked in slot 50 using a single screw 46, not 
illustrated for the sake of simplicity; in fact, the clearance slot 
housing outer handle 14 is fitted, on the opposite side to the lateral 
compartment 51, with an L-shaped lug 60 projecting inside slot 50 and 
towards the inside of door 1, on a plane further back from the one on 
which outer wall 5 lies; one end 62 of wing 22, opposite to wing 23 is 
inserted during assembly between lug 601 and wall 5 and is securely fixed 
is a removable manner to lug 60, for example by tightening a screw 46 
inside a threaded hole 70 machined through lug 60. 
In use, device 10 is preassembled off the assembly line, assembling in a 
known manner known parts, such as lock 11 and handle 14 with relative 
gears, inner mechanisms and outer controls, on bracket 20; then handle 15 
is also connected, assembled on bracket 30, by means of flexible cable 31. 
At this point, a perfectly functioning assembly is obtained that can be 
tested off the assembly line, making the necessary adjustments to 
compensate for any positioning errors between lock 11 and handle 14; this 
adjustment is hardly ever necessary however, as positioning errors are 
extremely unlikely to occur, the components of device 10 being assembled, 
according to the invention, on an element of an extremely reduced size and 
with a much greater rigidity than the door. Finally, the device 10 tested 
is put on the assembly line where it is assembled onto door 1; in 
particular, bracket 20 is assembled in line with slot 50 as shown by the 
arrows in FIG. 6, by blocking end 62 under lug 60, holding bracket 20 
tilted and then turning bracket 20 about lug 60 until handle 14 moves into 
slot 50 and wing 23 comes opposite compartment 51; screws 46 are then 
tightened, thus blocking bracket 20 and then bracket 30 is assembled and 
fixed onto supporting plate 53, the positioning of handle 15 not entailing 
any problems as said handle is connected to lock 11 by a flexible cable; 
finally, handle 15 is removed from pin 55, panel 4 is assembled and handle 
15 is reinserted on pin 55 through hole 56. 
From the description set forth above, the advantages of the invention are 
clear; the presence of bracket 20 enables, thanks to the shape of said 
bracket, devices 10 of a reduced size to be obtained, that may be 
completely assembled and tested off the assembly line and then assembled 
quickly and easily on the door designed accordingly and thus may easily be 
automatized with robots; it is finally to be noted that all positioning 
errors are substantially avoided, so the reliability of the locks cannot 
be negatively influenced by incorrect assembly onto the door.