A vehicle locking system

Abstract: A vehicle door latch 60 has a latching function operated by longitudinal movement of the inner of a Bowden cable 66 via a lever 92. The latch also has a locking function operated by rotation of the cable inner. The longitudinal movement of the cable inner is effected by means of the external door handle 64, and the rotational movement by means of the key operated door lock 62.

Description: The present invention relates to locking systems for vehicles, and in particular to improved mechanical drive mechanisms for vehicle locks. With ever increasing car crime it is becoming more important to provide locking systems for vehicles which prevent unauthorized access to the vehicle. Currently the link between the door lock into which the key is inserted and the latch mechanism which is to be locked is generally made up of link rods. It is a problem with such systems that once a thief has forced the lock out of the door it is easy to operate the latch manually by direct access to the link rods. Also the link rods can be operated by inserting an implement down the side of the window glass. US 3,400,962 discloses a vehicle door latch operated by a Bowden cable in which the inner moves longitudinally in the outer. US 2,614,437 discloses an adjustment mechanism for a vehicle mirror in which longitudinal and rotary movement of an actuating knob is transmitted via the inner of a Bowden cable to produce corresponding longitudinal and rotary movement of the mirror. The present invention provides a securing system for a vehicle door, the system comprising cable means comprising a cable outer and a cable inner, a securing mechanism for securing a door of a vehicle, and longitudinal drive means, the cable inner being movable longitudinally within operate a first function of the securing mechanism, characterized in that the system includes rotational drive means and the cable inner is also rotatable within the outer by means of the rotational drive means to operate a second function of the securing mechanism. Preferably the cable inner is rotatable relative to the longitudinal drive means and movable longitudinally relative to the rotational drive means. Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a view of a vehicle door securing system which includes some features in common with the invention, Figure 1A is a schematic view of part of the system of Figure 1; Figure 2 is a section through the door lock of the system of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a view of a vehicle door securing system according to an embodiment of the invention, Figure 4 is a view on arrow A of part of the system of Figure 3, and Figure 5 is a section on line V-V through part of the system of Figure 4. Referring to Figures 1 and 2 a vehicle door 10 has a latch mechanism 12 mounted on it. The latch mechanism includes an unlatching or release lever 14 which is used to unlatch the door 10 and is connected to inside and outside door handles 16, 18 by respective link rods 20, 22. The latch mechanism further includes a locking lever 24 which operates a locking function within the latch mechanism 12. The locking lever can be operated by a link rod 26 connected to a sill button (not shown) on the vehicle door 10, by a Bowden cable 28 connected to a key operated external door lock 30, and by a central locking motor 32. The Bowden cable 28 has its inner 34 connected to the locking lever by means of a screw-in connector 33 which translates rotation of the inner 34 in the Bowden cable outer 36 to rotation of the locking lever. As can be seen in Figure 2, the door lock 30 includes a first bevelled gear 52 arranged to rotate when the key is turned in the lock. The Bowden cable outer 36 is supported in a cable abutment 54, and the inner 34 extends into the casing 40. The casing includes a support 56 for the end of the inner 34 which allows it to rotate but prevents lateral movement. Between the abutment 54 and the support 56 a second bevelled gear 58 is mounted on the cable inner 34, such that it engages the first bevelled gear 52. Therefore rotation of the key in the lock causes rotation of the Bowden cable inner 34. The axis of rotation of the key and the first bevelled gear 52 is perpendicular to that of the second bevelled gear 58 and the cable inner 34. The casing 40 completely encloses the door lock and all the components which translate rotation of the key in the lock to rotation of the Bowden cable inner. Also the casing 40 and the Bowden cable outer 36 prevent access to the Bowden cable inner 34 by any route other than via the door lock 30. This means that even if a potential thief manages to prise the lock 30 out of the vehicle door 10 he will still not have access to the Bowden cable inner 34, and will therefore not be able to operate the locking lever easily. Referring to Figures 3 and 4, in an embodiment of the invention a vehicle securing mechanism in the form of a door latch 60 having release and locking functions is provided, and is operated by a key operated lock 62 and a door handle 64 via a single Bowden cable 66. At each end of the Bowden cable is a dual function cable linkage mechanism 68, 70. One of these 68 transfers movement of the door handle 64 to longitudinal movement of the inner 72 of the Bowden cable within the outer 74, and movement of the key in the lock 62 to rotational movement of the inner within the outer. The other 70 translates the longitudinal and rotational movement into release and locking actions in the latch 60. Referring to Figure 5, each dual action linkage mechanism 68, 70 comprises a main body 76 which supports the end of the cable outer 74, an internally splined drive cup 78, and an externally splined driven member 80 which is secured to the end of the cable inner 72. The drive cup 78 is rotatable relative to the main body 76 together with the driven member 80 and the cable inner 72, and has a rotary drive pin 82 projecting from it .A linear drive pin 84 is connected to the cable inner 72 by means of a sleeve 85 which allows the linear drive pin 84 to rotate relative to the cable inner. A stop 86 is attached to the cable inner 72 on the opposite side of the sleeve 85 to the driven member 80 thereby preventing movement of the sleeve along the cable inner 72. The linear drive pin 84 extends out of the main body 76 through a slot 88 In the linkage mechanism 68 the rotary drive pin is rotated by the lock 62, which is similar to that shown in Figure 2, but with the second bevelled gear 58 driving the rotary drive pin 82. The linear drive pin 84 extends through a slot 90 in the door handle 64 and is moved along the slot 88 in the main body 76 of by pulling and releasing the door handle. In the linkage mechanism 70 the rotary drive pin 82 is connected to a locking member in the latch mechanism 60 so that rotation of the cable inner 72 causes locking of the vehicle door. The linear drive pin 84 is connected to a lever 92 which is rotated by longitudinal movement of the cable inner 72 to operate a latching function of the latch mechanism 60. In a second embodiment of the invention, the system is similar to that of the first embodiment, except that the locking and latching operations are effected by means of an internal door handle, which operates in the same way as the external door handle 64, and a thumb wheel which is attached to the rotational drive pin 82, and which replaces the sill button conventionally used to operate vehicle door locks from inside the vehicle.

Claims: A securing system for a vehicle door (10), the system comprising cable means comprising a cable outer (74) and a cable inner (72), a securing mechanism (12) for securing a door (10) of a vehicle, and longitudinal drive means (84, 85), the cable inner (72) being movable longitudinally within the outer (74) by means of the longitudinal drive means (84, 85) to operate a first function of the securing mechanism, characterized in that the system includes rotational drive means (78,82,94) and the cable inner (72) is rotatable within the outer (74) by means of the rotational drive means (78,82,94) to operate a second function of the securing mechanism. A securing system according to claim 1 wherein the cable inner (72) is rotatable relative to the longitudinal drive means (84, 85) and movable longitudinally relative to the rotational drive means (78,82,94). A securing system according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the second function is a locking function. A securing system according to claim 3 wherein the rotational drive means (58, 52) forms part of a key operated lock (30). A securing system according to claim 4 wherein the rotational drive means includes a first gear wheel (52), and the system further comprises a second gear wheel (58) attached to the cable inner (34) and engaged with the first gear wheel to be rotated by it. A securing system according to 5 wherein the gear wheels (52, 58) are bevelled and have their axes of rotation perpendicular to each other. A securing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the rotational drive means (82) is arranged to be rotated directly by hand. A securing system according to claim 6 wherein the rotational drive means (94) comprises a thumb wheel. A securing system according to any foregoing claim wherein the rotational drive means includes a splined driving member (78), and the system further comprises a splined sliding member (80) which can slide relative to the driving member to allow the longitudinal movement of the cable inner (72). A securing system according to any foregoing claim wherein the securing mechanism (12) is a combined latch and locking mechanism. A securing mechanism according to any foregoing claim wherein said first function is an unlatching function.

Inventors: FOSTER EDWARD DE FERRY, FOSTER, EDWARD DE FERRY
Applicants: ROVER GROUP, ROVER GROUP LIMITED
Application year: 1995
Main classification: E05B53
IPC codes: E05B53, F16C1, E05B65