Patent GB-800437-A (GB)
Title: Improvements relating to automobile door latching mechanisms
IPC: E05B65/34
Filed: 1955-12-08
Abstract: 800,437. Door latches. GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION. Dec. 8, 1955 [Dec. 30, 1954], No. 35270/55. Classes 44 and 65(1) An automobile side door fastening comprises a latch having a bolt rotatable about an axis at right angles to the door edge plane and a striker having a portion to be engaged by the bolt; the door edge and the door post respectively having on or adjacent the latch and on the striker, surfaces which, when the door is in closed position, overlap and can, by contact with each other, assist separation of the door and door-post in the direction fore and aft. of the vehicle; the overlap surfaces being positioned so that 'when the door is in closed position, the surfaces are so spaced apart that they come into contact only on such distortion of the vehicle body as can be caused by a collision but come into contact before the bolt can disengage from the striker under the effect of such distortion. As shown in Fig. 3, the latch bolt 35 is of the gear type and it is contained in a housing 43. The striker 28 is provided with two teeth 41 which are engaged by the teeth of the bolt and the teeth 41 are not as wide as the striker body so that 'a channel 45 extends between the rear face of the teeth and a web 46 which extends along the back of the striker. A flange 50 is formed on the lower portion of the outer wall of the bolt housing 43 and when the bolt is engaged with the striker teeth 41 this flange is in the channel 45 and extends below the top surface of the striker teeth 41. Thus the flange surface and the rear face of the teeth 41 form the co-operating surfaces to prevent the latch bolt being forced away from the striker in a collision. The bolt is maintained engaged with the teeth 41 by means of a sliding shoe 44 which also acts as a buffer and which is backed by a spring and which engages between a portion of the striker and the top of the housing. In a modification of this construction, the bolt housing is omitted but on the outer face of the bolt there is a disc having a diameter which is substantially the same as the greatest diameter of the bolt so that the disc is received in the channel behind the striker teeth. This construction also has a sliding shoe on the striker and the latch casing on the door is provided with a wedge block which is engaged between the shoe and another portion of the striker to maintain the striker teeth in engagement with the bolt. In another construction, Fig. 16, which also uses a gear type bolt, the bolt is spaced from the edge wall 137 of the door, the striker is provided with teeth 139 which are wider than those on the bolt and a plate 142 is held by rivets 143 on the outer surface of the striker so that engagement of the inner surface of the bolt teeth with the inner surface of the plate 142 prevents the bolt from being pulled away from the striker in a collision. In a modification of this construction, instead of using a gear type bolt, a bolt which is pivoted at one end which has a single tooth engaging the teeth on the striker is used. In another construction, Fig. 14, the bolt 120 is of the fork type and it engages a pin 126 of the striker. The pin is provided with a disc or washer 130 secured to its end face to prevent the bolt being pulled away from the striker in a collision. In another construction, Fig. 6, which uses a bolt 60 which projects through a slot 61 in the edge wall 62 of the dor and which engages an obliquely arranged slot 67 in the striker for camming the bolt in an upward direction for latching the door, a wedge block 69 on the edge wall of the door is provided with a flange 74 which engages a channel 71 in the striker. The striker is also provided with a sliding shoe 70 which engages the upper surface of the wedge block. This form of construction can also be applied to a latch having a gear type bolt. In a further construction, Fig. 17, a generally V-shaped bolt 150 is used which is pivoted adjacent its apex on a stud 151 which projects through the edge wall of the door. The bolt is cam operated through another stud 153 and it is partly encased in a housing 155. The edge of the housing engages a channel formed behind a tooth 160 on the striker to prevent the bolt being pulled away from the striker in a collision.