Patent ID: 7213428

Claim:
An apparatus for locking and unlocking a vehicle door, the apparatus comprising a cylinder lock in which a rotor is rotatably supported within a cylinder body, the rotor rotating in response to a key operation of the apparatus, a door lock mechanism including a key operation input shaft, wherein the key operation input shaft rotates to switch the door lock mechanism between a locked state and an unlocked state of the door, and a torque cable for transmitting rotation of the rotor to the key operation input shaft, in which one end of the torque cable is connected to the rotor via a gear transmission mechanism, the gear transmission mechanism is accommodated in a gear case mounted to the cylinder body, wherein the gear transmission mechanism comprises a face gear and a pinion gear, the face gear is coaxially connected to the rotor, and the pinion gear is connected to the torque cable such that an axial line of the pinion gear lies perpendicular to an axial line of the face gear, and the pinion gear is meshed with the face gear, wherein the pinion gear is accommodated in the gear case so as to be capable of being substantially displaced in an axial direction of the pinion gear while maintaining a meshed state with the face gear, and wherein the apparatus further comprises a fitting recessed part provided at a central part of the face gear, wherein the rotor is fitted within the fitting recessed part so as to be incapable of rotation relative to the fitting recessed part, and a projection projecting toward the rotor is projectingly provided at a closed end of the fitting recessed part, the projection comprising a surface having a curved shape.